A PLANNING application for a massive electrical storage facility north of Batterstown has been lodged with Meath County Council.

GDA Energy, an Irish infrastructure development company, has applied for permission to establish a new grid stabilisation and electrical storage facility adjacent to the existing ESB/EirGrid substations at Woodland.

The proposal would see rechargeable battery units contained within 253 forty foot containers on the site at Creemore and Belshamstown.

The site is 2km northwest of Batterstown village, off the Batterstown - Trim Road. The site was chosen because it is adjacent to the 400 KV Woodland substation and the Portan HVDC station which connects to the UK electricity grid via an undersea cable.

The facility is designed to support the operation of the adjacent substations and no overhead power lines will be required.

The proposed Woodland Energy Park would provide grid support services to accommodate the greater use of renewable green energy across the east coast.

GDA Energy director, Michael Moore said: “The Government’s Climate Action Plan has set a target of 80 per cent of our electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

“Offshore wind will play a major role in achieving that target with many sites proposed for the east coast. The technologies proposed at Woodland Energy Park will help to maximise the amount of renewable electricity which can be supplied to the grid, helping Ireland to meet its 2030 target.”

There are two elements to the proposed development. A Grid Stabilisation Facility will comprise of a large rotating machine called a Synchronous Condenser which is similar in appearance and operation to the large turbines in conventional power plants.

It stabilises unexpected fluctuations on the power grid at times of high levels of renewable electricity generation. It will allow increased amounts of renewable power like wind to be facilitated on the electricity grid. A similar unit is currently being installed by the ESB at its Moneypoint facility in County Clare for the same purpose.

The second element, an Electrical Storage Facility will comprise of 295MW of rechargeable battery units. These will use a computerised system to draw electricity from the adjacent substations and stored in reserve, usually at times of peak renewable electricity generation. It can then be released back to the grid through the substations, usually during times of peak energy demand.

Mr Moore added: “Battery storage is a well-developed technology which has been in public use since the early 1990s. There are 89 similar sites operational across Ireland and the UK. The energy storage facility proposed at Woodland is essentially a collection of batteries which will perform the same job as the battery in a mobile phone, laptop or electric car – to charge and discharge electricity on demand.

“The batteries are housed within specially designed, sealed containers, fitted with state-of-the-art control systems which monitor the atmospheric conditions and adjust as necessary.”

“Like any electrical installation, safety is a key consideration, and the proposed facility is designed with heat, smoke and fire detection and suppression systems ensuring that it operates to the highest safety standards. At GDA Energy we want to be good corporate neighbours and we have engaged with residents living adjacent to the site as well as local councillors in the area. We are happy to address any queries or concerns they might have.” Mr Moore added.

He said the Woodland Energy Park would help EirGrid send more renewable energy, both home-produced and imported, to the grid and reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation. Similar facilities will be needed across the power grid in the coming years for Ireland to meet its 2030 target.

GDA Energy is an Irish based infrastructure development company investing in low carbon infrastructure projects. The management team has delivered over 1GW of low carbon projects across the UK, Ireland and Australia with a further 5GW in development.

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