GridBeyond has announced that it will provide battery energy storage systems (BESS) to two data centres in Ireland owned by Singapore-listed Keppel DC REIT. Keppel DC Dublin 1 and 2 are located at City West and Ballycoon.
The project includes the installation and management of two 2MW/2.2MWh BESS at the Citywest site and a 4MW/6.1MWh BESS at the Ballycoolin site. GridBeyond will connect the batteries to its AI-powered energy technology platform, GridBeyond Point.
The batteries will provide flexible capacity to the power system, helping to integrate renewable energy sources into the energy mix and supporting the grid during times of stress. It will add 8MW of flexible capacity to the grid ahead of the winter peak demand period.
GridBeyond regional director for Ireland, Denver Blemings, said: “This project shows how data centres can play a bigger role in the energy transition. It’s great to see companies, like Keppel DC REIT, use demand response programmes to support the grid and use renewable energies in the delivery of their activities”.
Gary Watson, country manager (Ireland) of Keppel DC REIT, added: “Leveraging this partnership with GridBeyond, Keppel DC REIT is able to take another step towards our 2030 net zero targets. We will also explore other ways to increase the use of renewable energy, such as installing on-site solar, to bolster our efforts to decarbonise our operations.”
Ireland’s energy storage
Ireland is forecast to have the highest growth rate in Europe for electricity demand and consumption, with an average annual increase of almost 7%. Data centres are expected to play a large role in this; it is estimated that in 2022 Irish data centres consumed roughly 5.3TWh of electricity – around 17% of the country’s electricity demand.
In April this year, ESB Networks announced that Ireland’s electricity grid reached 1GW of energy storage available from different BESS assets. At the end of March, Gore Street Energy Storage Fund secured an additional 385MW of Irish-based energy storage, of which 130MW is operational. Ireland has been singled out as “a consistently lucrative market for the company”.
