Moneypoint power station
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Infobox power station Moneypoint power station (Template:Langx)[1] is a large power station in Ireland which ceased to be a coal-fired power station in June 2025. After ceasing burning coal, it is to operate as a "back-up out-of-market generator" using heavy oil for electricity generation until 2029.[2] The facility also operates a flywheel synchronous condenser providing grid-stabalization services.[3]
For a period, Moneypoint was Ireland's largest electricity generation station (with an output 915 MW),[4] and its only coal-fired plant.[5] Commissioned between 1985 and 1987,[6] it is located on the River Shannon, near Kilrush in County Clare, and was constructed at a cost of more than £700m.[7] The station originally operated largely on coal, making it both unique in the context of Irish electricity production and for a while was the country's single largest emitter of greenhouse gases.[8] At its peak, it was capable of meeting around 25% of customer demand across the country[9] but by 2023, coal's share of the electricity fuel mix in Ireland had fallen to 4%.[10]
When operating as a coal-fired power station, it had three Brown Boveri four-cylinder, single-shaft impulse reaction turbines which were directly connected to three electric generators. The steam was generated by three Foster Wheeler two-pass boilers, which converted water into high pressure steam by combustion of the coal.
The power station chimneys, at 218m, are the tallest free-standing structures in Ireland.
History
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Moneypoint was under construction from 1979 to 1987.[11] Before its construction, Ireland depended heavily on imported oil for its energy.[12] During the 1970s, a sharp increase in oil prices over a short period of time led the government and the Electricity Supply Board to choose coal as a fuel, as it was seen as a plentiful resource with a stable price.[13]
In 2019, the government launched its climate action plan which included a commitment to end the burning of coal in Moneypoint by 2025,[14] and replace coal-fired generation with "low-carbon and renewable technologies". As of 2021, one option being explored was a 400 MW floating wind farm with an onshore hydrogen facility.[15] A plan was announced in April 2021 by its owner, the ESB Group, to replace the facility with a green-energy hub.[16]
In 2023, it was reported that the plant would continue operations until 2029 as an oil-burning back-up facility of last resort.[17] By 2024, the ESB Group had been granted permission to convert the facility for use as a Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) generator.[18] It has two HFO storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes.[6]
In June 2025, coal-burning ceased at Moneypoint.[2]
See also
References
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External links
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- Official Information Sheet (PDF) (archived 2015)
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