The March announcements of the Government's approval of a State-led emergency gas reserve alongside An Bord Pleanála's award of planning permission for a previously refused gas storage facility are important steps towards achieving Ireland's energy security objectives.
State-led LNG Reserve
On 4 March 2025, the Government granted Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O'Brien approval to proceed with a plan to develop a State-led LNG terminal, vitalising Action 17 of the "Energy Security in Ireland to 2030″ Report (the Report) which was published in November 2023 and targeted the development of a State-led strategic gas reserve.
Ireland is one of 5 EU member states without domestic gas storage (the Southwest Kinsale storage reservoir having ceased operation in 2017). With 77% of Ireland's natural gas in 2023 coming from imports through two interconnectors from the UK, this emergency reserve will address unmet demand should significant disruption of supplies occur. Ireland's current position as to its gas reserves renders it non-compliant with the EU N-1 Infrastructure Standard regulation, i.e. the requirement that a member state must have, in the event of a disruption of the single largest gas infrastructure in the state, the capacity in its remaining infrastructure to satisfy total gas demand during a day of exceptional gas demand.
The Government has stressed that the development of the LNG terminal is a transitional measure on the road to improved domestic sources of renewable energy, is for emergency use only, and does not support increased demand.
The emergency reserve will be in the form of a Floating Storage and Regassification Unit (FRSU). It will be owned on behalf of the State by the gas system operator, Gas Networks Ireland (GNI). GNI has advised that the FSRU may be procured on a long-term leasing arrangement or through an outright purchase. The FSRU will have capacity of 170,000 cubic meters of LNG when full, sufficient to supply 200,000 average domestic gas customers demand for 6 months. Alternatively, the FSRU will have the ability to supply Ireland's entire gas demand for seven days and would be refilled to continue to supply the national gas network.
LNG Facility at Kerry Power Plant
On 18 March, An Bord Pleanála overturned its September 2023 decision (which we discussed here) and granted planning permission for a 600MW power plant in Kerry. The proposed 630-acre site on the Shannon Estuary includes an emergency storage facility for LNG.
Shannon LNG's challenge of the initial refusal was granted by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys who noted in the High Court last November that the original decision to refuse had not taken into consideration the Report's position that the absence of a major storage facility for natural gas was a risk for security of supply. In its revised decision approving the development of the facility, An Bord Pleanála noted it was satisfied that the development of the plant was consistent with national climate ambitions. On 24 March, An Bord Pleanála withdrew its application seeking to review the High Court's November decision.
Energy Security
In 2022, the Government's announcement of the National Energy Security Framework was necessitated by the unprecedented effects on Ireland's energy system caused by the war in Ukraine, which highlighted our current vulnerabilities and the importance of enhancing our indigenous energy systems.
Ireland remains one of the most energy import dependent states in the EU, with 78.5% of the country's energy needs coming from imports in 2023. Such dependence renders the country highly exposed to the knock-on effects of international social and economic emergencies. This situation is set to be further exacerbated by the ongoing depletion of the Corrib gas field and the effective ban on new oil and gas exploration in Irish waters by the previous Government.
The subsequent publication of the Report, outlined 28 Actions as part of an Energy Security Package to enhance our domestic energy systems and improve energy security.
Long Term and Short Term Objectives
While the Report set out Ireland's long-term goal of an electricity led energy system, in the short term it emphasised the need to improve gas security during this decade. This represented a revision of the 2020 Programme for Government's position that it "did not make sense to develop LNG gas import terminals importing fracked gas".
The above developments have given significant impetus to this goal of reducing our reliance on interconnectors to Great Britain as the sole source for our natural gas imports.
Next Steps
Reducing Ireland's dependency on imported fossil fuels is central to improving our long-term energy security future.
While the long-term objectives for Ireland's energy security remain the development of an electricity led system powered by indigenous renewable sources, these announcements safeguard the fulfilment of such long-term targets and represent essential immediate steps towards protection of our energy security.
Implementation of the Actions in the Energy Security Package are monitored by a Governmental 'Energy Security Group'. A follow up to the Report will be published in 2030, and every five years thereafter.
The Report is available to read in full here.
Contributed by Colm Booth and Matthew Smith.
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