‘This Is the End of Coal in Ireland’: Country Shuts Down Last Plant Ahead of Schedule

Ireland has become the sixth European country to end its use of coal with its scheduled shut-down of the Moneypoint coal-fired power plant six months earlier than originally planned.

The 915 megawatt station will continue to operate in an oil-based backup capacity under emergency instruction until 2029, reported The Irish Examiner.

“This is the end of coal in Ireland and the start of a cleaner energy future,” said Paddy Hayes, ESB’s chief executive officer, in the statement, as Bloomberg reported.

Developed in the 1980s, Moneypoint is one of the largest energy stations in Ireland.

As renewables make up an increasing share of the world’s power generation, coal is becoming obsolete as a fuel source.

“While Moneypoint will no longer use coal, we entered an agreement with ESB, following direction from our regulator, CRU, to make Moneypoint units available on a temporary basis as out of market units up to 31st March 2029,” said Cathal Marley, chief executive of EirGrid, as reported by The Irish Examiner. “The units will operate using oil as the primary fuel source and will support the overall adequacy position for Ireland, alongside the other measures in CRU’s Security of Supply Programme.”

Hayes said teams working in the communities of County Clare, where the Moneypoint plant is located, have been central to powering the electricity system in Ireland for the better part of four decades.

Friends of the Earth welcomed the scheduled closure of Moneypoint, saying the ending of its coal operations was the start of what could be a big summer for coal phaseouts in Europe. Italy and Spain are also set to shut down their remaining mainland coal-fired power plants in the coming months.

A total of 23 countries in Europe have committed to the phaseout of coal, according to European climate advocacy group Beyond Fossil Fuels.

Environmental advocates emphasized that the transition from coal to renewables wasn’t yet complete, The Irish Post reported. Jerry Mac Evilly, campaigns director for Friends of the Earth Ireland, urged the country’s government to limit and ultimately stop the oil-based backup role of Moneypoint.

Mac Evilly called for stricter policies to regulate the expansion of data centers in Ireland, which he said are increasing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.

“Ireland has quietly rewritten its energy story by replacing polluting coal with homegrown renewable energy,” said Alexandru Mustață, a Beyond Fossil Fuels coal and gas campaigner, as reported by The Irish Post.