This is Phase One of ESB’s Green Atlantic @ Moneypoint project to turn the Co Clare Ireland site into a renewable energy hub.

The synchronous condenser will strengthen the stability and resilience of the Irish grid and support ever-more renewables coming on stream.

Today, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, welcomed ESB’s investment in a new €50 million synchronous condenser at Moneypoint Generating Station, Co Clare.

This technology will enable higher volumes of renewables on the system and provide a range of electrical services to the electricity grid which would previously have been supplied by fossil fuel-fired generation.

This investment is Phase One of Green Atlantic @ Moneypoint, ESB’s ambitious project to transform its Moneypoint site into a renewable energy hub, helping Ireland to become a leader in green energy production.

The multi-billion-euro project will see a range of renewable technologies deployed over the next decade, including floating offshore wind and green hydrogen production and storage, which will have the capacity to power 1.6 million homes while representing a significant investment in the Mid-West region.

Once in full commercial operation, this will be the first synchronous condenser in Ireland and its flywheel will be the largest of its kind anywhere in the world.

It will be capable of providing 4000MWs (mega-watt seconds) of inertia which is the equivalent of two existing Moneypoint units. This is critical to significantly increasing the amount of renewable generation, including onshore and offshore wind, connecting to our electricity networks while reducing the use of fossil fuel-fired generation.

‘Phase One of Green Atlantic @ Moneypoint, will help us to do that by enabling more renewables on the system in line with our Net Zero by 2040 strategy.’

Aaron O’Halloran, Chief Operating Officer at ASafe Global., said: “ASafe Global are extremely proud to provide Health & Safety Management for Ireland’s first synchronous condenser. Over the past 18 months, we have worked with our customer Siemens Energy through pandemic and supply chain challenges to deliver this critical grid-stabilising technology on time. We are especially delighted that Ireland has been the destination for the largest synchronous condenser flywheel ever installed.

Due to the intermittency of wind energy, grid stabilisation technologies have an increasingly important role in a successful energy transition. The synchronous condenser will enable the system operator, EirGrid, to manage the transmission system safely and securely with a reduced dispatch of fossil fuel plants under constraints and reduced transmission operation costs.

The Moneypoint synchronous compensator with the flywheel is a cost-effective and zero carbon solution – strengthening the stability and resilience of the Irish grid and supporting ever-more renewables coming on stream – in line with ESB’s Driven to Make a Difference: Net Zero by 2040 strategy.