The Cost of Inaction

The cost of doing nothing

Ireland is exposed. Gas will continue to play a vital role in Ireland’s energy system for years to come. And as oil/peat/coal infrastructure retires and energy demand rises, no equivalent system of resilience has replaced it. Without indigenous energy storage, we remain vulnerable to disruption and structurally out of step with EU best practice. Kestrel is not just an opportunity, it is a necessity. The cost of doing nothing is no longer theoretical. It’s real, rising, and nationally consequential.

Exposure Without Infrastructure

Ireland’s energy system is currently more exposed than at any point in the past two decades, with an ever-increasing demand for energy, zero gas storage, retired oil/coal/peat backup, and no energy security.

We have 0 days of indigenous gas storage. The UK has 6; the EU average is 79. We’re an island relying on an island who’s relying on other sources.
As oil/peat/coal power generation assets have been decommissioned, no equivalent storage has replaced them.
With gas continuing to underpin heat, power generation, and overall energy demand, the absence of storage leaves the system structurally exposed to disruption and volatility.

Why it matters?

We’ve removed old protections without installing new ones. That gap is not theoretical, it’s structural.

High-Risk, High-Cost Scenarios

Government’s own modelling confirms that the cost of not developing storage is measured not in millions, but tens of billions, making inaction the highest-cost option.

A full disruption at Moffat would result in a €4.6 billion per month impact on the Irish economy, per CEPA modelling
The FSRU alone does not mitigate this scenario; only geological storage working with the FSRU provides system redundancy at scale
Energy shocks, like those of 2022, disproportionately affect small, import-dependent markets, and price surges flow directly to consumers and businesses

Why it matters?

Energy security isn’t theoretical, it’s financial. When the system breaks, the economy pays.

Lost Strategic Sovereignty

Ireland is at a uniquely favourable point where existing infrastructure, validated data and policy alignment enable long-duration storage to be delivered before the next system stress event. Failing to act now risks prolonged reliance on external systems and reduced national control. The infrastructure already exists and is proven – Ireland had operational gas storage until 2017.

Analysis of the operational data over the 40-year life of Kinsale fields has confirmed that the Ballycotton gas field can provide the required Security of Supply for Ireland.
Without action, Ireland remains at the bottom of the EU preparedness table, increasingly reliant on external capacity and less able to withstand global volatility.

Why it matters?

Strategic sovereignty in a decarbonised power system depends on long-duration molecular storage, not dependence on others when renewables are unavailable.