Ireland has officially pulled the plug on coal power – the country shut down coal operations at Moneypoint, its only coal-fired power station and largest electricity generation station. That makes Ireland the sixth European country to fully kick coal out of its electricity mix.
This big milestone didn’t happen overnight. At the start of the 2000s, wind energy made up just 1% of Ireland’s electricity. Now, it supplies over a third (37%) of the country’s power. That clean energy growth is what made ditching coal possible.
“Ireland has quietly rewritten its energy story, replacing toxic coal with homegrown renewable power. But this isn’t ‘job done,’” said Alexandru Mustață, campaigner on coal and gas at Beyond Fossil Fuels. “The government’s priority now must be building a power system fit for a renewable future; one with the storage, flexibility, and grid infrastructure needed to run fully on clean, domestic renewable electricity.”
Even though coal is out, Moneypoint will burn heavy fuel oil during emergencies, under the direction of state-owned power operator EirGrid through 2029.
The site is already on its way to becoming a major renewable hub. A 17 MW onshore wind farm was built at Moneypoint in 2017. In 2021, the government announced the Green Atlantic at Moneypoint, a multi-billion-euro renewable energy project.
“The end of coal burning at Moneypoint is a significant sign of progress and a clear indication that Ireland’s fossil fuel era can and must draw to a close,” said Jerry Mac Evilly, campaigns director at Friends of the Earth Ireland. “The government must now ensure oil back-up is kept to an absolute minimum and ultimately decommissioned.”
Mac Evilly also pointed out the contradiction in government plans: While retiring coal, Ireland is also aiming to build at least 2 gigawatts (GW) of new gas power plants, with no clear plan to wean off gas, which powers the majority of electricity generation (48%). “Now is the time for Ireland’s government to be clear that a zero-carbon system, prioritizing battery storage, demand reduction, and renewables, is the answer to the country’s climate and energy security objectives.”
Ireland’s coal exit is part of a bigger European trend. This summer could be a game-changer, with Spain and Italy both on track to shut down their last mainland coal plants. That would leave them coal-free except for the Balearic Islands and Sardinia. Right now, 15 European countries have already gone coal-free, and 10 more have plans to do so in the next five years.
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