Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has signed up to deliver flexible capacity to Ireland’s frequency system services programme and the emerging single electricity market across the island after partnering with demand side response provider Enernoc.
The owner operator of Dublin and Cork airports has signed up 3MW of fast responding flexibility to the DS3 programme, a frequency system services scheme that went live in May to facilitate the rise of non-synchronous renewable generation.
Through Enernoc this capacity will respond to signals for the Tertiary Operating Reserve 1, or TOR1, service which requires response between 90 seconds and 5 minutes.
The partnership has also allowed DAA to enrol more than 8MW of flexible capacity into the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) for Ireland and Northern Ireland, due to launch on 1 October 2018.
Like DS3, flexible assets are expected to be required to manage a more intermittent system across the island.
DAA expects to earn from multiple revenue streams under both programmes while contributing to transmission operator EirGrid’s system stability as it progresses towards a 2020 goal of generating 40% of its power from renewable sources.
While it is unlikely to reach this target owing to slow development of renewable support schemes to date, additional EU-wide targets are in place for 2030 that Ireland hopes to reach with its Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS), approved this week by the Irish government.
Ian Clarke, energy manager at Dublin Airport, said: “Participating in EirGrid’s latest grid balancing schemes aligns perfectly with our asset management and energy objectives. We are delighted to become part of the Enernoc network of businesses that are enabling Ireland’s grid resilience while furthering our own operational resilience.”
In April, Eirgrid and its Northern Ireland equivalent SONI confirmed that the Irish electricity system peaked at 65% variable renewable energy, mainly as a result of wind generation.
With similar instances expected in the future, grid operators are expected to call on sources of flexibility from DS3 in exchange for payments to scheme participants.
Through partnerships with the likes of DAA, Enernoc intends to capitalise on this opportunity and has already built up a portfolio of over 20MW to compete in the DS3 market.
Peter Connolly, Enernoc’s regional manager for Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to add Dublin Airport Authority to our demand-side response network of industrial and commercial customers. Their participation in both EirGrid’s DS3 services and the future capacity market created by the upcoming integration of the Single Electricity Market (SEM) ensures the continued stability and security of Ireland’s electricity supply.”
The ‘go-live’ date of Ireland’s integrated electricity market has been delayed until October following concerns over the development of the necessary IT systems.
