Energy Security
Restoring strategic energy storage
Kestrel restores a strategic energy storage capability Ireland has lost during the transition away from coal/peat/oil and provides the State with a critical security against supply disruption, price volatility, and system risk. While electricity decarbonisation is progressing, gas continues to underpin both heat and power generation, making secure access to gas essential for overall system resilience. It strengthens national resilience by replacing energy storage once delivered by legacy coal, peat, and oil infrastructure, ensuring the system can withstand shocks as Ireland accelerates towards a renewable future.
Strategic Storage at Scale
Ireland currently has no long-duration energy storage, leaving the country exposed to shocks, single-point failures, and volatility. While the proposed FSRU will strengthen import diversity and short-term flexibility, it does not provide the long-duration, indigenous storage required to manage prolonged disruptions or system stress. The combination of an FSRU and large-scale natural gas storage was recognised by GNI in their (XX) report.
This exposure is heightened by the fact that natural gas underpins a large share of Ireland’s total energy use, including home heating and electricity generation, while the majority of supply is imported. As an island energy system dependent on imports via the UK, Ireland faces inherent structural vulnerability to external disruption. Kestrel restores this missing layer of protection through proven, repurposed geological storage at a national scale.
- Kestrel will restore indigenous gas storage capacity using a proven, repurposed reservoir model.
- Ireland currently has 0 days of gas storage, compared with an EU average of 79 days. The UK has 6 days of storage.
- Updated geological and operational analysis confirm capacity for at least 90 days (based on average daily consumption) of strategic reserve, bringing Ireland in line with EU norms and best practice.
- Natural gas was safely stored in Kinsale from 2001–2017.
Why it matters?
The FSRU enhances import flexibility, while indigenous storage provides strategic resilience at scale. Together, they reduce reliance on a single entry point at Moffat and materially strengthen security of supply.
Complements Existing Government Policy
Kestrel complements the Government’s FSRU strategy by providing long-term storage for energy security, while the FSRU delivers import diversity, reflecting EU best practice where both assets serve distinct but essential roles
- FSRU = import flexibility, Kestrel = indigenous reserve
- The GNI Action 17 SGER report to Government in April 2024 confirms that FSRU alone cannot cover a full UK supply outage; geological storage is required to close this risk gap
- Kestrel helps Ireland to meet and exceed EU N-1 standards, reducing system exposure
Why it matters?
This is not an “either-or” it’s a and/both complementary approach, aligned with best practice across the EU.
Proven Infrastructure
By re-using a structurally verified, decommissioned gas field and funding all development and construction costs through private capital, Kestrel delivers national scale infrastructure without requiring Exchequer capital investment, while appropriately seeking Government support to manage long-term financial risk.
- Utilises decommissioned, structurally verified gas field at Ballycotton, building on proven geological performance.
- New and updated geological and technical data confirms technical viability and addresses all points raised in 2022 CEPA analysis in a N-1 event.
- In combination with the FSRU, Kestrel can ensure Ireland’s security of supply in the event of a full GB outage
- The geological storage model proposed has existed and operated successfully for decades and remains a core component of energy security infrastructure across the EU
- Delivered by a consortium of established system operators with direct experience in developing, owning, and operating large-scale gas storage and energy infrastructure in Ireland, the UK, and across Europe
- All upfront capital and development expenditure is borne by the consortium (ESB GT, Bord Gáis Energy, and dCarbonX), with Government support focused on providing revenue stability through an agreed regulatory framework, rather than capital funding.
Why it matters?
Kestrel delivers a critical national security asset using private capital, while targeted Government involvement is limited to managing long-term financial risk, avoiding direct State build, ownership, or capital exposure.
