Developer SSE Renewables has made a final investment decision (FID) to commence construction on a new 100MW BESS project in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Located next to the Tamnamore 275/110kV substation near Dungannon, the 100MW Derrymeen BESS facility will provide two hours of storage, equivalent to 200MWh. The facility will be connected to the substation and participate in the all-island integrated internal electricity market (SEM).
Construction of the project follows initial activities, including detailed design and procurement of key equipment, such as the mains transformer, which are already underway.
Heather Donald, onshore Ireland projects director at SSE Renewables, said: “Securing a final investment decision for Derrymeen marks another important milestone in our commitment to building a flexible and resilient energy system across the island of Ireland.”
In addition, the project has also secured a 10-year Capacity Remuneration Market (CRM) contract, starting in October 2028. In addition to this 100MW/200MWh BESS project, SSE currently has an operational portfolio of 117MW of onshore wind energy in Northern Ireland.
Once operational, the project will help strengthen Northern Ireland’s electricity network by providing flexible energy storage capacity to support renewable energy generation. The country aims to supply 80% of all electricity in Northern Ireland with renewable energy by 2030. Recently, the country’s Minister of Economy, Caoimhe Archibald, published the final draft of the scheme for a renewable energy support scheme similar to Great Britain Contracts for the difference (CfD) or the Renewable Energy Support Program (RESS) in the Republic of Ireland.
