Why is this project needed?According to Eirgrid statistics, the electricity usage in Ireland across homes and businesses, day to day, ranges from as low as 3,000 MW to circa 6,300 MW. Therefore, the power generation and grid must deal with large transitions between lows and highs, not only over the course of a day or week but second by second.

Our electricity network is also under increasing pressure as more renewable energy production causes greater intermittency and risks the threat of local outages.

Battery storage acts as a power reserve for the national electricity network. When electricity generation drops below demand this reserve capacity can be switched on at a moment’s notice.

In that regard it meets the Irish Government’s objective of promoting the development of secure and sustainable energy system that can meet the EU’s 2020 climate targets in a cost effective manner without jeopardising the electricity system.

Other technologies can and do provide reserve services. These include gas or diesel driven engines which are coupled to generators. However the advantages of batteries include:

Smaller, quieter and less visually intrusive;

Negligible environmental footprint;

Do not require fuels to be stored on site or piped in;

Near instantaneous response;

Can be powered directly by solar farms or wind farms in the area.

Why Kellistown?There are limited substations in Ireland that have the capacity to facilitate energy storage. Kellistown East can accommodate the connection of an energy storage facility which will help the balancing of Ireland’s energy supply for the benefit of the local region and the Irish economy.

The Proposed DevelopmentThe proposed Energy Storage Project will consist of 34 metal containers (similar in appearance to shipping containers) which will house the Lithium Ion batteries, fire suppression system, control systems and other electrical component. They will be surrounded by a secure, fenced hardstand within an area of approximately 1ha. The overall area of the proposed development comprises 1.97ha of land located within a single field, with field boundaries consisting of a mixture of trees, hedgerows and fencing.

Benefits to the local areaENGIE recognises that in areas where it operates it should contribute to the local community as much as possible. The benefits of this Energy Storage Project include;

ENGIE commits to sourcing all construction materials, where available, within County Carlow.

ENGIE commits to using local contractors for civil and electrical works, where available. Employment of local contractors and contracting businesses will have a direct benefit to the local economy and the development of skills in the area.

Use of local trades for ancillary works such as landscaping and ground keeping. This is an ongoing commitment for the lifetime of the project, circa 15 years.

ENGIE has established a €20,000 per annum (index linked) community benefit fund. This will be available for community projects within 2km of the development once the project is commissioned.

Kellistown Energy Storage Project February 2018

ENGIE Developments Ireland Limited has submitted a planning application to Carlow County Council for an energy storage facility next to the Kellistown East substation. The facility will provide the capacity to store up to 100 MW of electricity. This energy can be stored when electricity supply exceeds demand and then transmitted to the national grid when electricity demand exceeds supply.

Battery Storage Like the name suggests, battery storage is a means of storing electrical energy just like a rechargeable battery or electric car. The application is of course of a larger scale but the basic principle is the same, it allows power to be stored and released.

Globally, there is increasing demand for energy storage driven in part by the expansion of intermittent energy sources such as wind farms and solar. There are many companies like ENGIE who deploy battery technology at large scale to better manage electricity systems.

There are currently about 600 MW of battery storage units in construction across the UK and another 1 GW with planning approved. These battery storage systems range in size from 10 MW and 100 MW.

What is a Lithium Ion battery?A Lithium Ion battery is an electro chemical rechargeable battery that was first invented in the 1970s and has been in commercial production since early 1991. Battery storage is a well-developed technology and has been a feature in public use since the early 1990s. Common household items such as watches, laptops, telephones, cars and all other portable electronic device use the same technology.

The batteries will likely be manufactured in Germany as there are no local or national suppliers that can produce them in Ireland.

Health & SafetyWe recognise that safety is a key concern of the community in Kellistown and Rathoe. Safety of the community, the work force and the environment are paramount to ENGIE.

ENGIE, has a significant portfolio of energy assets globally and has extensive experience in designing and operating energy systems. We have used this wealth of experience to design the system being proposed at Kellistown and to ensure it will meet all health and safety regulatory requirements relating to design, construction, operation and decommissioning so as to prevent fire occurring from the outset. Other measures will include carrying out regular fire safety risk assessments and consulting with the local fire brigade to ensure that robust emergency plans and procedures are in place to protect people and property.

The batteries are at the forefront of design and include safety systems which have been rigorously tested in applications globally. We need the batteries to be performance ready so they are monitored 24 hours, 365 days a year.

For safety and security the batteries are housed in sealed containers which maintain atmospheric conditions. In addition to primary and seconday control systems, a fire suppression system (along with a backup) is installed in each container.

In addition, the batteries are solid state i.e. do not contain liquid and therefore there is no possibility of Lithium entering the aquatic or any other environment.

Visual ImpactThe small amount of land (1ha) and low height, plus the provision of a boundary planting scheme, will mean the visual impacts are minimised.

An artist’s impression of a typical battery storage facility.

Environmental AssessmentENGIE employed an independent Environmental Consultancy to undertake environmental appraisals of the project and identify any mitigation measures that might be required. These assesments included:

Ecology assessment;

Landscape and visual assessment;

Noise assessment;

Archaeological and architectural heritage assessment;

Flood risk assessment.

The assessments are comprehensive and undertaken by independent, highly experienced professionals.

Overall, given the limited scale of the land required, the low physical impact of the technology used and the reduced need to remove vegetation, the outcome of the assessments has been that there would be low impact.

Therefore little is required to mitigate impacts. The site is currently utilised for agriculture and this highly ‘improved’ land provides little in the way of habitat. However, ENGIE has designed the project to allow for ecological corridors to be implemented which will allow the site to be better ‘connected’ for local wildlife such as badgers.

In addition to the above, ENGIE has sought to produce further documents which demonstrate how impacts during construction will be managed, for example construction timing, transportation of equipment etc. To ensure that impacts to the local community are managed and reduced.

ENGIE can confirm that a full hydrological survey has been undertaken and there are no watercourses which would be impacted by the project.

The inclusion of environmental improvement measures including onsite habitat will result in net biodiversity enhancements.

The site location and layout.

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Includes Ordnance Survey Ireland data reproducedunder OSi Licence number EN 0084218.Unauthorised reproduction infringes Ordnance SurveyIreland and Government of Ireland copyright.© Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2018

KellistownEnergy Storage

Figure 1-2bDetailed Site Layout

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About Engie ENGIE is a global energy business and an expert operator in electricity, natural gas and energy services. The Group develops its businesses around a model based on responsible growth to tackle the major challenges of energy’s transition to a low-carbon economy: access to sustainable energy, climate-change mitigation and adaptation, security of supply and the rational use of resources. ENGIE is currently developing several renewable energy sites in Ireland, as well as battery storage sites which are low/zero carbon projects to help the environment by the reduction of greenhouse gases and the production of clean, renewable energy.

Engaging with the community ENGIE has established a project website kellistown.engie.ie to provide information about the development. The site makes available detailed information on battery technology, provides the complete suite of planning documents for you to download and includes details of the €20,000 per year community benefit fund. If you are interested in the Project we hope that this courtesy information guide and the associated website will help you consider the proposal and its merits.

The proposal is currently being considered by the local planning authority, Carlow County Council. The planning process allows for people to make observations on the project. ENGIE wants to be a good corporate neighbour in the locality and welcomes contact and engagement with the local community in relation to our proposal. Contact details for the project team are outlined below and we encourage you to contact to discuss the project and seek clarification on any aspects of the proposal.

Benjamin Bateman Project Manager Energy Infrastructure Renewables UK & Ireland

kellistownbattery@engie.com http://kellistown.engie.ie/

Kellistown Energy Storage Project website.