The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) in Ireland released draft Terms & Conditions for consultation on the RESS-1 auction in December 2019. The consultation closed on 17th January 2020 and stakeholder feedback is being considered. The next significant milestone in the RESS-1 auction process is the Qualification Application Opening Date on the 2nd March 2020, where bidders then have a three-week window in which to respond before the Application Closing Date on 26th March 2020. Bid bonds must also be submitted on or before this closing date. The RESS-1 auction is intended for projects which already have a grid connection and planning permission since they must be connected and operational by 21st December 2022, hence the requirement for a bid bond at the qualification stage. The final auction results will be given on 14th July 2020.
The RESS-2 auctions, which will include offshore wind, will follow on quickly with pre-qualification in Q1 of 2021 and the auction itself scheduled to take place in Q2 of 2022 as shown in the IWEA diagram below. Indicative timescales are also given for subsequent RESS auctions out to 2024.
Figure 1:RESS Timeline as it stands
