EirGrid has opened a six-week consultation on its proposed procurement mechanism for Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES), aiming to enable the delivery of up to 500MW of storage assets capable of at least four hours’ continuous import and export by 2030.
The consultation, published on 13 October 2025, follows the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment’s Electricity Storage Policy Framework (ESPF) and builds on EirGrid’s 2023 Call for Evidence on LDES.
Respondents to that call highlighted both the benefits of storage and the investment barriers created by revenue uncertainty.
EirGrid said LDES could “play an important role in supporting the transition to a highly renewable electricity system and the delivery of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan targets.”
The operator’s proposal is for a technology-neutral mechanism that complements, rather than replaces, existing market arrangements such as the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism and DS3 System Services.
The initial phase would procure a minimum of 201MW of LDES capacity, prioritising connection types that maximise use of existing infrastructure and projects located in areas of high renewable dispatch-down.
“Such assets can help in providing both import and export flexibility to manage renewable variability,” EirGrid stated, “importing when renewable output is high and exporting back to the system when renewable output is lower.”
To encourage investment, EirGrid proposes a two-strand revenue model. Developers would bid a capped “floor price” based on the Levelised Cost of Storage, providing certainty of income.
Above that threshold, revenues would be shared 70:30 between the LDES operator and the Transmission System Operator.
The consultation also outlines an “operational envelope” system to ensure storage actions support, rather than worsen, grid constraints.
Responses are invited via EirGrid’s consultation portal until 17:00 on 24 November 2025, with a recommendations paper to follow for approval by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. A second consultation will then address detailed contractual arrangements.
“Stakeholder feedback will be vital to shaping the final procurement design,” EirGrid said in its announcement on LinkedIn, encouraging developers, suppliers and network operators to participate.
