However, S&D has not been the only market change, shaping the opportunity for batteries. The continued growth of renewable generation, particularly solar, has fundamentally changed the shape of the electricity market. Increased solar output has created a more pronounced midday price depression, while demand continues to drive evening peaks. This changing generation profile is creating new opportunities for batteries to capture value across multiple periods of the day.

In our previous analysis (read here: Adapting to Opportunity: A first look at the impact of Schedule & Dispatch on BESS assets in the SEM), we examined the first 50 days following the implementation of S&D. At that stage, asset owners and optimisers were adapting to the new market structure, while the TSO continued to embed new operational processes. We saw an increase in traded volumes and trading revenues, with assets beginning to engage more actively in the energy markets. This trend has continued with April being the month with the highest trading volume, with a 43% increase on what we seen in December (the first full month of S&D).

The analysis in this Insight is based on publicly available data. ElectroRoute does not have access to individual asset trading strategies or operational data, and assumptions have been made where required. Revenue calculations assume firm access and use a simplified view of SEM charges, which provides a slight overestimation of Traded revenue.

Market Insight

Since the implementation of S&D, traded BESS volumes have continued to increase across the energy markets. As can be seen in Figure 1, the Day Ahead (DA) market remains the dominant source of traded volume and continues to grow steadily, while Intraday Auction 1 (IDA1) remains a smaller but important optimisation opportunity. Since this introduction of S&D, we have seen over twice as much traded volume by BESS units in the DA market compared to the three IDA markets combined.

The ability to adjust positions closer to real time allows optimisers to respond to changing market conditions, lock in value, and optimise traded positions without necessarily requiring additional cycling of the asset.

The continued growth in day-ahead and intraday participation demonstrates that BESS assets are becoming increasingly integrated into the wider energy market, rather than operating solely around system service revenues. We still see the level of churn across the markets to be a fraction compared to other markets like Great Britain and Germany. This is driven by two key factors: a lack of liquidity and sophisticated trading products to allow for linked bids. Which remains a limiting factor for the BESS market in Ireland.

Trading Revenues remain linked to Market Dynamics

Monthly trading revenues across the BESS fleet remain variable, driven by the level of arbitrage opportunity available in the market. We have seen an increase in strong revenue opportunities, but also an increase in risk. Since the introduction of S&D until the end of May 2026, there have been 30 days with a total system wide negative Trade PnL. One day resulted in the BESS fleet running a total loss of over €65k.

March and April 2026 proved to be particularly strong months for BESS trading, supported by high renewable generation levels and strong morning and evening demand. An increase in price spreads resulted in March having over twice the total Trade PnL of February. It’s not surprising that February was the worst month we have seen for daily DA market price spreads since the introduction of S&D, and also the worst total Trade PnL.

Access to Balancing Mechanism (BM) revenue is another key driver of monthly earnings. While participation in the BM is not driven by market economics and is instead largely determined by the TSOs operational processes and system constraints, it can still provide significant value to assets. From the start of S&D to the end of May, wholesale revenue was around 40% larger than BM revenue, though BM revenue made up a more significant portion of revenue in May with a reduction in wholesale profits.

Non-firm assets are exposed to the spread between the imbalance price and the wholesale market price when they are not dispatched to their expected discharge position. However, these assets are often then compensated when they are moved away from their charge profile, resulting in an incremental payment. This creates an opportunity for assets to be compensated, or made whole, when they are not run in line with their anticipated traded position. The impact on BM revenue on the overall monthly revenue is shown in Figure 3 below.

This highlights an important point for BESS participation in the SEM: revenue opportunity is highly variable. The data points to revenue distribution being sensitive to system conditions, renewable output, demand patterns, system limitations and the ability of optimisers to react quickly to market signals.

Follow PN: Improving Confidence in Dispatch

One of the most important elements of S&D for BESS assets was the introduction of Follow PN (or “Follow Physical Notification”). Under this arrangement, assets are expected to be dispatched close to or at their traded market position, outside of system security reasons. This provides certainty for asset owners to develop trading strategies around clear operational expectations.

Our previous analysis identified that a significant proportion of traded positions, in excess of 20%, were not being followed by the TSO. Figure 4 shows the slight improvement we have seen, with that figure now coming in at roughly 17% of volume deviating significantly from their traded positions. We hope to see continued improvements in this over the coming months.

While dispatch will never perfectly match trading positions due to real-time system requirements, the improvement is a positive signal for the industry. It demonstrates continued progress as operational processes mature.

As can be seen in Figure 5, the largest differences remain around periods of system stress, particularly during evening peaks when renewable availability, SNSP levels and system constraints become key considerations for the TSOs. In this scenario, the TSOs seem less willing to dispatch BESS assets at the cost of curtailing renewables. This lines up with what was articulated in the communications with the industry by the TSO prior to the delivery of the S&D program.

Following the implementation of S&D, BESS charging was initially subject to a blanket constraint limiting assets to 20% of their Maximum Import Capacity (MIC). This was quickly replaced by a group-wide constraint that limits charging when the combined BESS charging profile exceeds 200MW.

However, our graph in Figure 6, of the dispatch data suggests this is not operating as a fixed cap. Instead, TSO appear to be managing the constraint dynamically, allowing greater charging volumes when system conditions allow. This approach provides flexibility for assets while balancing the operational requirements of the system.

While a significant portion of the BESS fleet remains non-firm and is therefore not compensated when dispatched below its expected discharge position, these events can create secondary market opportunities. If an asset is not discharged as expected, its State of Charge (SoC) remains higher than forecast, which can prevent it from reaching its traded charging position for the following morning. In these circumstances, assets may submit incremental offers into the Balancing Market (BM), creating an additional route to capture value.

The Evolution of BESS Trading Strategies

The market opportunity for batteries has continued to evolve since the introduction of S&D. During the early stages, trading strategies were heavily focused around capturing the evening peak. We can see in Figure 9 that this has changed over the past few months, with more volume focused on the morning peak, and charging through the midday price reduction. However, the usual movement in prices over the change in seasons, helped by a growth of solar generation (as can be seen in Figure 7) has changed the daily price profile, creating the possibility of a second daily trading opportunity, with batteries increasingly able to optimise around both morning and evening peaks.

While the price curve reflects the change in daily demand profile over the summer months, the significant increase in solar output creates a more pronounced price curve (often referred to as the duck curve). Notably, this has been developing year on year as both the wholesale and behind the meter solar capacity has rapidly grown.

The result of this is lower midday prices, which have created an additional opportunity for batteries to charge during periods of high renewable output and discharge later when demand increases.

With the continued success of RESS in supporting solar projects and the expected maintenance of rooftop solar grants through the term of the current government, this trend is likely to continue. Batteries that can adapt their strategies around changing market conditions will be best positioned to capture these opportunities.

Future of the Industry

The introduction of Schedule & Dispatch has fundamentally changed the role of, and opportunity for, BESS assets in the SEM.

While the programme is still developing and operational challenges remain, asset owners and optimisers now have greater access to energy markets and a clearer framework to develop trading strategies.

Additional clarity across several key workstreams is needed to unlock the full potential of the Irish storage market. In particular, the industry would benefit from firm timelines and early design details for the enduring BESS reforms being delivered through the Strategic Market Programme. These changes should enable greater market-based BM redispatch and, if implemented effectively, could further differentiate Ireland from other European markets, where BM revenues already form a significant component of the BESS revenue stack.

DASSA is also beginning to take shape. While the complexity of the market design will require a period of adjustment, it is likely to create opportunities for innovative trading strategies. The publication of the first Annual Reserve Service Forecast later this year will be a key milestone, providing the industry with greater visibility of the revenue potential available through this new market.

The planned change in network charges (announced this month by the CRU) from October 2026 is a welcome change. BESS units will now be charges as generators rather than demand customers. Not only does this align procedures across the SEM, we are confident that this will increase the use of BESS units, providing more flexibility to the grid, as well as more revenue opportunities for owners.

ElectroRoute continue to actively analyse the commercial prospect of floors, tolls and swaps and while the market is not as advanced as that of our neighbours in Great Britain or indeed Germany, the direction of travel of policy suggests that there will be opportunities to enter into floor arrangements.

However, for a meaningfully competitive and deep contracting market to emerge beyond a small number of flagship announcements, it is essential meaningfully progress is made on policy initiatives around S&D, strategic market reform, DASSA, LDES (EirGrid and ESBN) and hybrid design over the course of the next 6-12 months.

For a trading/optimising entity to agree to take on 7-12 years of risk through a floor/toll, it is essential that there is reasonable clarity and confidence on the direction of travel for these initiatives, particularly given the likely impact of each on system and pricing dynamics.

If you would like to discuss opportunities in the Irish storage market, we will be attending the ESI conference on the 30th of June in Croke Park and would be happy to meet in person. Please feel free to get in touch with our Storage Lead at rory.cafferky@electroroute.com.

The post Beyond Adaptation: How BESS trading strategies are evolving under Schedule & Dispatch appeared first on ElectroRoute.

After a long 5 years of planning, consultation and testing, the Schedule & Dispatch (S&D) Programme began on the 13^th of November 2025, partially with the intention of improving the ability of BESS assets to access arbitrage trading opportunities.

The S&D Programme now offers BESS assets their own registration category (previously BESS assets were registered as multi fuel generators, leaving obvious gaps in the operational range for storage) and crucially allowing the submission of negative Physical Notifications (PNs) for charging, enabling greater participation in the ex-ante markets.  EirGrid has adopted a ‘follow PN’ approach for BESS assets, allowing traders to determine the optimal schedule for this asset class and mitigating the risk of units being moved away from their PN in the scheduling tools within the control centre. The System Operators have identified a select number of scenarios where the control centre may deviate from this approach.

While the implementation of S&D is still in its early days, this ElectroRoute Insight examines the initial difference in trading revenue pre and post the delivery of the S&D program.

Market Insight

This section provides market insight into the trading activity of all of the SEMO registered BESS assets on the island, comparing the 50-day periods either side of the start of S&D.

The volume traded across the different markets has increased considerably since the implementation of S&D with a 39% increase in sold volumes since the implementation of S&D.

In the 50 days post the introduction of S&D, there is a marked difference in Trading PnL from the Wholesale and BM markets. There has been an estimated 13% increase in the accumulative trading profit across all BESS units. We have seen a stark improvement in Trading PnL over the last two weeks highlighting that owners, optimisers and EirGrid were adapting to the new systems.

As expected, DS3 is still dominant in revenue – making up and average of 88.5% of revenue distribution for units during this period, only 1.6 percentage points less than the pre-S&D period, under similar system conditions.

While there has been an increase in trading profit since the delivery of S&D, we see a greater variability in the day-to-day performance of the Trading PnL across the market, as can be seen below. While there have been some challenging trading days with limited spread opportunities, there has also been very favourable conditions for extended periods with volatile wholesale prices.

There has been a limited number of days where the BESS market had an accumulative negative Trade PnL. Days with low, or negative Trade PnL should not be viewed as a failure of trading, but as the flexibility of the market when DS3 revenues are strong. Several of the negative trading days were days of high SNSP, or followed by a sustained period of high SNSP, resulting in assets ensuring they had a healthy state of charge to meet DS3 obligations. There were also quiet days over the Christmas period, with less activity from some assets despite favourable conditions.

The most lucrative days since the delivery of S&D have come unsurprisingly on days when SNSP was low and wholesale prices were high. The lower SNSP resulted in an increased focus on arbitrage trading, with lucrative returns.

The below graphs show a breakdown of the different revenue streams over some of the most lucrative trading days since the implementation of S&D. The DA revenue stands out as the dominant source of revenue. However, revenue from the balancing market is higher than we would have expected based on the design of the S&D program and the implementation of ‘Follow PN’, with more on this later.

The following three graphs are the top three best days for the system as a whole in the post S&D period.

The post S&D period has seen an exaggeration of the existing evening trading peak for BESS units, and an increase in negative trading overnight, as units use low prices to charge.

This is not just a result of one optimiser or owner changing strategy but can be seen below to be across the storage sector (each row of squares is an individual asset).

What can also be seen from the above graph is the greater engagement in trading revenue among assets that were not previously active in trading. Outside of the strong peak in the evening, the rest of the trading in the post S&D era is widely distributed through the day.

There are still assets that have not yet been trading regularly, totalling over 200MW of capacity that could become active in the market at any time. As highlighted earlier, it has taken time for optimisers of assets to fully engage with the post S&D changes, and the next 50 days and beyond will no doubt see continued adaption as trading teams grow more comfortable with the new framework. It is important to note that technical/warranty/availability constraints on BESS assets can sometimes play a factor in the trading strategy.

For the portfolio of assets at or above 2 hours of energy storage duration, we estimate that the expected annual trading revenue to be €44k/MW/Year, over the first 50 days of trading post S&D. This is supplemented by additional capacity market revenue and the currently lucrative ancillary service revenue making the return for Irish storage very attractive at present.

Follow PN

The industry is closely monitoring how EirGrid run BESS assets based on their traded PN as the Follow PN concept was at the core of the proposed S&D system change. Sold positions took a big jump – rising by 39%, since S&D was delivered. This has resulted in an equivalent high increase in the  metered output with a 46.6% increase in discharged energy.  This indicates that batteries are being utilised more frequently. However, BESS assets are only being run to their traded discharge position 80% of the time since the implementation of S&D, this is a marginal improvement from 77% of the time prior to the delivery of the new system.

This was predominately driven by the introduction of a new, unexpected, constraint which was applied against BESS assets by EirGrid that limited asset ability to charge to 20% of their Maximum Import Capacity (MIC). This has a direct impact on an assets ability to meet its discharge position later in the day.

Assets have met 72.5% of their accumulative charge profile since the implementation of S&D. While this has a significant impact on an assets ability to efficiently capture arbitrage opportunities, it does provide balancing market as the asset is effectively been moved up from its PN. However, due to the non-firm status of a significant share of the BESS portfolio, the asset is exposed to an imbalance charge during the discharge profile later in the day. This is a complex trading scenario that need to be managed appropriately to ensure the asset achieves positive trading revenue while maintaining warranty obligations under a trading service agreement.

Similar to what was seen in GB with the introduction of the open balancing platform at National Grid, it has taken EirGrid some time to get comfortable with the increased operations of BESS assets on the system. EirGrid continues to manage an increasingly complex system with high levels of renewables and an increasing share of demand coming from a small cohort of large energy users causing their own unique challenges. Despite this, EirGrid have move relatively quickly to adopt their operational processes around the 20% MIC constraint and have now adopted a group wide constraint that looks to constrain charge volumes only when the cumulative BESS charge profile exceeds 200 MW in a given period.

As a result, we continue to see an increased improvement in how closely EirGrid run BESS asset to their traded position since the 26^th of December, with both the charge and discharge profile being followed close to 90% of the time.  This is a strong sign that market operators are making an effort to ensure that units are meeting their traded position, a positive outcome for the BESS industry.

What’s Next?

With DS3 set to continue until the earlier of (i) the implementation of the Day Ahead System Services Arrangements (DASSA) or (ii) September 2027, we expect ancillary service to continue to dominate the revenue stack. A decision has yet to be made on the Temporal Scarcity Scalars (TSS) that are a key driver in the high returns seen in DS3, by increasing the payments by a magnitude when SNSP is high. The removal or reduction of the these scalars can be implemented within a month of a final decision from the SEM Committee, which would have a significant impact on DS3 revenue and would result in a major shift in battery trading towards wholesale trading. At the moment, TSS levels, particularly across the evening peak, are a significant variable on the likelihood of batteries trading for the day.

The removal of these scalars will reduce the importance of SNSP, and result in traded revenue rising as a percentage of income.

The implementation of the Follow PN approach will continue to be monitored closely by the market as a key indicator in determining future BESS revenue. Battery developers are keenly awaiting more information on the Enduring Solution for batteries that EirGrid is currently developing. This will give more access to the Balancing Market for BESS assets, unlocking a key element of the revenue stack in the Irish market.

Further, the future of ancillary service looks unnecessarily complex; the industry would benefit from finalising the design of the proposed DASSA auction so that future revenue can be accurately forecasted.

While it is still early days to assess the full success of the S&D program for BESS assets, it is finally a step in the right direction and a positive sign for the market as a whole to see the increased activity of BESS assets in the market.

ElectroRoute is an active participant in the storage sector in Ireland and GB, having contracted over 449MW of storage and flex assets since 2021. We have a 24/7 trading desk in Dublin to manage our assets. Our storage and flex originators have considerable expertise in the market and are always happy to talk Should you have any queries, or wish to get in touch, please reach out to our Commercial Manager  at rory.cafferky@electroroute.com.

The post Adapting to Opportunity: A first look at the impact of Schedule & Dispatch on BESS assets in the SEM appeared first on ElectroRoute.

In this latest ElectroRoute Insight, we delve into the recent SEM Committee final design decision on the Future Arrangement for System Services, which is a crucial element of policy required to incentivise the investment into and efficient operation of enabling technologies.

Background

EirGrid and SONI, the respective Transmission System Operators in Ireland and Northern Ireland, are each tasked with ensuring the reliable and secure operation of the power systems in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Central to achieving these standards is the existence of range of system services and reserve products (together known as ancillary services).

As the level of renewable penetration increases on the island, the importance of these services has materially increased. Via the launch of the DS3 programme initially in 2011, the island of Ireland became a test laboratory for much of the world regarding the procurement of services specifically to allow a high degree of instantaneous renewable penetration operate while maintaining system security.

The DS3 program has been essential in achieving 40% renewable energy penetration on the island of Ireland, however, the program was designed to meet the needs of Irelands power system in 2020. As we now look to 2030 and beyond it is imperative that the groundwork for a modernised electricity market, which promotes the transition towards flexibility and greater renewable energy integration, is actively prepared. Central to this is the shift from the current DS3 Regulated Arrangements to future competitive arrangements for the procurement of system services. The introduction of the Future Arrangements for System Services (FASS) program on the island of Ireland is essential for delivering a power system that can handle up to 95% System Non-Synchronous Penetration (SNSP).

FASS Design Decision

On the 18^th December, the SEM Committee published[1] its final design decision for the FASS program. In this article, we share our thoughts on what is expected to be the biggest changes in the Irish market since the introduction of ISEM in 2018.

Initial Phase

The initial phase is focused on securing the key reserve services (FFR, POR, SOR & TOR) through a competitive daily auction process known as the Day-Ahead System Services Auction (DASSA). These actions will initially focus on procuring reserve services across the island of Ireland, meeting the jurisdictional requirements of both EirGrid and SONI. The auction will occur after the Day-Ahead (DA) market clears, with the regulatory authorities deciding to push the timing of the DASSA auction out to 15:30. This is something the industry will be extremely grateful for as it gives optimisers sufficient time to evolve their daily bidding strategy following the publication of the DA result.

The auction will secure system services over a 24-hour horizon, with the DASSA employing a pay-as-cleared model, settling prices for each 30-minute Trading Period, with auction winners receiving commitments for each period.

At first glance, there are many similarities between what’s being proposed in Ireland and what’s already in place in Great Britain’s ancillary services market. Opinions in the GB market vary widely depending on who you ask, but there’s no doubt that competitive auctions for ancillary services have opened the door for more participants, including renewable energy providers and battery storage operators.

This has driven down costs for consumers, but it’s also reduced revenues for asset owners who previously benefited from higher prices in a less liquid and competitive environment. The auction system has given National Grid ESO the flexibility to quickly adapt to changes in the energy mix, especially with more wind and solar in operations, and has kept the grid responsive to supply and demand shifts.

Further, competitive bidding in GB has made the process more cost-efficient and introduced innovative trading strategies to ensure new technologies such as battery storage take on a more prominent role, ultimately diversifying and strengthening the grid’s services.

Design Elements

The proposed design of the DASSA introduces several distinctive features that set it apart from the GB market. One key innovation is the inclusion of zero-volume bids and secondary trading, which allow renewables to take a more active role in the ancillary services market. This not only creates additional revenue streams for renewable projects but also enables traders to maximize returns by capitalizing on these new dynamics.

The introduction of a secondary market presents battery optimisers with significant potential to adopt dynamic strategies. By continuously adjusting an asset’s position within the revenue stack, they can ensure the asset generates the highest possible returns. This flexibility is key to staying competitive in a rapidly evolving market.

One of the biggest surprises in the regulators’ decision paper was the proposal to remove the Final Assignment Mechanism (FAM). The SEM Committee highlighted several flaws in the current FAM design, most notably its failure to incentivise ex-ante availability, a key objective of the original High-Level Design (HLD), a point we at ElectroRoute strongly agree with. Instead of driving proactive positioning by units, the FAM merely acted as a compensation mechanism based on units’ final positions at gate closure. Additionally, the inability to update bids closer to real-time made the FAM outdated and ineffective at capturing the true value of services.

While the SEM Committee believes that a fully automated secondary market and the removal of certain compensation protections will reduce the need for a top-up auction, we believe further consideration is merited here. Grid code requirements continue to mandate that all available units provide reserve during a frequency event, meaning that even unsuccessful DASSA participants serve as a backup and should be compensated if utilised. Although the FAM’s initial design had its flaws, we remain unconvinced that removing it entirely from the overall DASSA framework is an appropriate step.

Missed Opportunities

While the DASSA is poised to bring significant changes to the ancillary services market, there are some missed opportunities in the FASS program so far. The proposed products under DASSA offer limited innovation. Aside from the introduction of negative reserve products and the consolidation into a single replacement reserve product, there’s little variation in the reserve offerings for the initial implementation.

In contrast, the GB ancillary services market is continually evolving its reserve products to meet the changing needs of the power system, especially as renewable energy penetration grows. This constant adaptation ensures the market stays flexible and responsive to shifting energy demands. ElectroRoute suggest that a similar position is adopted on the island of Ireland

Another area where DASSA falls short is the proposed bidding structure, which lacks the complexity seen in GB. Complex bidding allows traders to adopt more flexible strategies, fostering greater competitiveness in auctions. In a market expected to be highly saturated from the outset, introducing complex bids would drive innovation and help secure the most competitive prices throughout the trading day.

Open Questions

While the work done by the TSOs and SEM Committee on the FASS program and the DASSA design must be commended, there remains a pressing need for clarity on several critical open questions. Chief among them is the interim arrangement between the conclusion of the DS3 program and the full implementation of DASSA. Given the industry’s experience with similar large-scale projects, delays are almost inevitable, and the lack of a clear transition plan could create uncertainty for market participants. It should be of no surprise that any potential cliff edge in the revenue model for market participants will severely impact the appetite for investment.

Conclusion

There’s no question that the ancillary service market in Ireland is on the cusp of significant change as it moves toward more competitive structures. However, somewhat sudden changes in the final design such as the removal of the FAM and a lack of clarity in other areas will add somewhat of a concern to participants. The industry will now look to the TSOs to provide clarity on the SEM Committee decision, which will provide much-needed certainty on several key issues that have are as yet unclear.

Additional consultation will no doubt be needed before we have a clearer picture of the full mechanics of the DASSA. The decisions made on the back of these consultations will not only shape the future of ancillary services but will also set the stage for how renewable and storage assets integrate into this evolving market. Ultimately, how these challenges are addressed will determine the success of DASSA and its long-term impact on Ireland’s energy landscape.

About Us

ElectroRoute is an active participant in the storage sector in Ireland, having contracted over 275MW of energy storage since 2021, and our storage and flex origination have considerable experience in the area of storage trading and operations. Should you have any queries, or wish to get in touch, please contact us at info@electroroute.com

The post Future of Ancillary Services in SEM: Final Design Considerations appeared first on ElectroRoute.

It’s been an amazing journey over the past 13 years.  While the pendulum of my focus must now swing to family and my personal life, I will forever be very proud of what has been achieved in ElectroRoute.

Saying goodbye is bittersweet, but it does afford an opportunity to acknowledge successes to date and wish everyone the best for the exciting chapters ahead.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve found myself reflecting a lot on the extraordinary challenges and achievements along the path of building ElectroRoute, from literally a set of ideas discussed for hours over kitchen and barroom tables in 2010 to what we have today.

The current range of activity of our pan-European trading company is wonderful.  A full end-to-end trading platform capable of scheduling electricity in a matter of minutes to trading natural gas many years ahead.  We’re shipping Biomethane through pipelines right across Europe one hand and underwriting the risks facing renewable assets for the next decade so that they can be financed on the other.  Since inception ElectroRoute as a company has been intent on knitting together the complicated threads of a decarbonised energy system.

I’m enormously grateful to Alex Bryson, Eamonn O’Donoghue, Alan Mullane, and Bernie Fitzpatrick – the steely co-founders who never wavered along the journey. Their fundamental belief in the mission of building a decarbonised energy system and the commercial opportunity that lay therein bound and fuelled the management team over the years.

While I’m stepping back myself at this juncture, ElectroRoute’s next phase is looking even brighter. Under the leadership of our new Co-CEOs Caoimhe Giblin and Donal Flynn, the company will benefit from vast experience and an expansive professional tool kit.  Two brains will certainly be better than one as the company drives confidently ahead.  I have always felt very privileged and humbled to count Caoimhe, Donal, and our HR director Catherine Kelly (all my professional seniors previously in Airtricity) as part of my team in ElectroRoute.

I have to suppress the temptation to elaborate endlessly in praise of the fantastic staff I have had the pleasure to work with, the friendly and open company culture we created and the innovative approach to technology at ElectroRoute. There simply aren’t enough words or time to do justice to the incredible people who have walked through our doors.  It’s been a great privilege working with each and every one of you across all locations, whether in Dublin, London, Tokyo, or of course, Donegal.

Great credit goes to our early-stage investors, central to whom were Paul Dowling and Bran Keogh. They helped us get on, and stay on, the right path. Over the past 7 years joining the Mitsubishi Group of companies has been instrumental in propelling ElectroRoute to its current significant European and indeed global footprint.  The scale, strength, and quality of our business today is testament to the invaluable collaboration and strength within the Mitsubishi family. That we now have a full suite physical and financial power trading platform operational and staffed in Tokyo is evidence of the potential for our collaborations in the years ahead.

The future is bright.  While I’ll be doing different things in the future, I am very excited to watch ElectroRoute continue to evolve and thrive under its new leadership. To everyone who has been part of this remarkable journey, thank you for making the last 13 years truly unforgettable.

Ronan

The post A Word of Thanks appeared first on ElectroRoute.

On 6^th December 2023, Ireland generated 4,629 MW of wind energy instantaneously, surpassing the previous record set in February 2022. This record, while another achievement for renewable electricity integration into the Irish electricity grid, was noteworthy for the ease that the Irish system was able to accommodate such high levels of wind generation, and this blog post explores some of the factors that contributed to that.

The high winds were caused by three low-pressure systems located directly off the west coast. Our generation forecasts at Day Ahead indicated that there would be over 4 GW of available wind for most parts of the day, with 5.3 GW possibly available around 14:00. Irish electricity demand was also forecast to be high over the day due to cold temperatures, peaking at 6.7 GW.

In GB temperatures were even cooler and there was lower wind generation, leading to high residual demand there. It was therefore likely that Ireland would be exporting for the whole day, and so it proved, as shown below.  These factors combined meant that the chances of large amounts of dispatch down of wind in Ireland were slim, and that the grid would remain stable even with a lot of renewable electricity generation.

The previous record wind generation of 4,610 MW was exceeded several times throughout the day, with Ireland’s wind generation peaking at 4,629MW at 16:00. Actual and predicted wind generation are displayed in the graph below (from EirGrid). For several hours during the day, the TSO accommodated more than 4.5 GW of wind power generation on the grid.

The below graph shows the wind output, the dispatch down and the “available wind” (the sum of output and dispatch down). Also shown below is a graph of the SNSP level over the day, taken from EirGrid’s dashboard. It is interesting to note that for such high levels of wind generation, there was very little dispatch down and SNSP levels remained relatively low, at just 60 – 65% during the period when generation was above 4.5 GW. The work EirGrid has done in allowing the SNSP limit to increase to 75% has meant that even during record wind generation, we had room to accommodate even more renewable generation on the system.

The SNSP level was helped as we were exporting power to GB. In a situation where we had in fact been importing power, a rough calculation would indicate that we could only have accommodated ~3.8 GW of wind generation on the system on the 6^th December, highlighting the importance of increasing interconnection to Europe and GB if Ireland wants to meet its renewable energy targets.

This noteworthy accomplishment fits in well with Ireland’s renewable energy goals, which requires the country to produce 80% of its annual electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030, and with increased renewable generation capacity, further interconnection with GB & Europe and a continually rising SNSP limit, it is likely that Ireland will regularly break its wind generation record over the coming months and years.

As always, please get in touch with the ElectroRoute team of renewable energy experts for all your energy trading needs – info@electroroute.com

The post New record for Irish Wind Generation! appeared first on ElectroRoute.

This week saw an important milestone in the biomethane industry throughout Ireland with the announcement that DHL Supply Chain has agreed an €80M deal with Stream bioenergy which will fuel a fleet of up to 150 trucks for 10 years using biomethane as a source fuel.  DHL has teamed up with Tesco Ireland in the structure which involves 92 locally fuelled biomethane trucks for the retailer.

The news is important not just from the perspective of a major transport and logistics business outlining its intent to take a lead on decarbonising transport, but equally for a much-needed boost to the biomethane sector in Ireland. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) currently targets a 5.7TWh p.a. target in 2030 from an industry which is establishing itself from a relative standing start.

Figure 1: Pictured from L-R; Brian Kennedy (Head of Client Origination, ElectroRoute), Mick Kelly (Operations Excellence DIrector, DHL Supply Chain Ireland), Caoimhe GIblin (Commercial Director, ElectroRoute) [Conor McCabe Photography]

ElectroRoute’s Role

ElectroRoute is thrilled to have partnered with DHL in its journey to decarbonise its road transport fleet by providing a cross-border biomethane shipping and certificate management service which utilises our ISCC-certified European gas platform.

Through this cross-border biomethane shipping service, ElectroRoute has enabled DHL to immediately operate renewable-fueled trucks in Ireland. It takes time to deliver high-quality Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants through the consenting and construction phases, and this innovative structure serves to allow a ramp-up in the fleet in advance of the indigenous solutions.

Over the last number of years, ElectroRoute has developed a comprehensive European platform which now sees us registered and actively trading on 14 cross-border interconnection points and operational in 11 European markets.

Through 2022, ElectroRoute flowed more than 2TWh of gas across Europe.

Moreover, ElectroRoute is accredited by ISCC to handle and ship biofuels throughout Europe. This unique platform means that ElectroRoute is positioned to act as a strategic shipper to Irish, European and multinational organisations seeking to transport and supply biomethane from source to use while crucially maintaining the green credentials of the physical biomethane.

Figure 2: ElectroRoute’s Gas Hub activity

Importance to Biomethane Targets

The Irish Government, and many others throughout Europe have identified biomethane as a carbon-neutral fuel which will act as a major source of decarbonisation for hard to electrify industries.

While the Government’s target of 5.7TWh production in 2030 (and up to 1TWh by 2025) is of course challenging to achieve in the time permitted, it equally should not act as a ceiling for our longer-term ambitions on the use of renewable gas on the island of Ireland. Gas Network Ireland, in its Gas Forecast Statement 2022[1], indicates a gas demand in the Republic of Ireland of 52.4TWh (all island demand of 72.9TWh). With the right balance of incentive and obligation, it’s entirely possible to look to the likes of Denmark which will likely achieve 100% of demand supplied with renewable gas between 2030-2035.

Importance of Biomethane in Transport

It’s clear that the transport sector needs broad-based solutions to support its legal requirements under the CAP Carbon Budgets, and while much hope is placed on the electrification of the broader transport fleet, it is widely understood that this will not resolve all transport emissions challenges. With hydrogen still in its infancy and, in Ireland at least, requiring major success in the cost of floating offshore wind as an input fuel, there is a need to emphasise the possibilities in other sectors. In Carbon Budget 1 (2021-2025), Ireland has already utilised circa 42% of its allowable budget of 50Mt CO2eq. in the transport sector.

It is important to note that at the end of a Carbon Budget cycle, we don’t start again from scratch but instead absorb any emissions which have overrun from the last completed budget. It is therefore critically important in all carbon budgets that policymakers do not make the mistake that the emission reduction effort can be rear-loaded. Any such delay in action will only serve to make the subsequent Carbon Budget more challenging to achieve. In the graphic below, the horizontal lines represent the total Carbon Budget 1 and 2, reflected in annual average terms.

Figure 3:Source: EPA

Should there be a budget overrun in Carbon Budget 1, then Carbon Budget 2 will automatically be set at a lower limit to counteract this. Biomethane offers a realistic prospect of supporting the decarbonisation of the heavy goods fleet in particular and doing so immediately. Initially, at least, this will be from certified renewable biomethane and subsequently from indigenous sources.

Contact Us

If you want to get in contact about Biomethane offtake or support in procurement and/or shipping, please reach out to our team at clientservices@electroroute.com who can support you.

About ElectroRoute

ElectroRoute is an international, renewables-focused, energy trading and services company. The company has grown rapidly from its establishment in 2011 to now employing over 120 professionals based in Ireland, the UK, Europe, and Japan.

The company’s vision is to make net zero a reality by solving the commercial mechanics of a decarbonised energy system. Its team of traders trade and optimise over 1.8GW of renewable and storage assets on a 24*7 basis using its unique, tech-driven, AI-powered platform, ElectroRoute CORE.

ElectroRoute operates a gas operations desk which ships biomethane throughout Europe on behalf of its client base, flowing more than 2TWh of gas in 2022.

[1] https://www.gasnetworks.ie/docs/corporate/gas-regulation/GNI-2022-Gas-Forecast-Statement.pdf

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