Gas Networks Ireland will invest more than €200 million this year in maintaining, upgrading, protecting and decarbonising the country’s gas network. This represents a new record for the organisation and reflects the continuing importance of networked gas in the energy mix.
The connection of new power-generating stations to the gas network represents the most significant element of the delivery of the capital expenditure programme.
Known as “peakers”, these new peaking power stations – such as those at ESB Poolbeg, Ringsend, Corduff and Grange BackUp Power – are very different from traditional gas-fired electricity-generating stations, as Conor Ahern, head of asset delivery at Gas Networks Ireland, explains: “These new power stations can provide fast response in times of peak electricity demand or when the supply of renewables drop on a still day or night.”
The greater the proportion of renewable power on the grid, the greater the need for flexible backup. Last year, almost 40 per cent of Ireland’s electricity came from renewables but during periods where wind or solar drop to near zero, known as “dunkelflaute”, alternative sources of power are essential.
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“No new gas-fired power stations had been built for 10 years but, due to the increasing amount of renewables on the system and the growing demand for electricity, Gas Networks Ireland was directed to provide gas connections to 2GWs of power generation by 2030 under the Government’s climate action plan,” says Ahern.
“These gas-fired peaking power stations have the flexibility and agility required to react when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Twelve gas connections have been contracted to date. We have delivered four of those gas connections already, three more will delivered by year end and the remaining five will be connected in the next few years.
“For example, we currently have gas connections to new power generation projects under way for customers in Monksland, Co Roscommon, Castlelost in Co Westmeath and Profile Park, Co Dublin. These gas connections all involve the installation of transmission pipelines and the construction of new above ground installations (AGIs).”
Ahern says Ireland “needs a diversity of energy sources and natural gas helps to provide that at the moment”. This underlines the economic importance of the gas infrastructure as well as its role in enabling the energy transition.
However, that doesn’t mean that Ireland is wedded to natural gas for all time; far from it. Gas Networks Ireland has its own strategy to decarbonise by 2045, with natural gas being completely replaced by biomethane and hydrogen by that point.
Hydrogen may still be a fuel of the future but biomethane is very much in the here and now, with the Government setting a target of having 10 per cent of gas on the network coming from biomethane by 2030.
“We are planning to transition to biomethane and then to hydrogen in the longer term,” Ahern says. “Biomethane is the first step in the decarbonisation journey for Gas Networks Ireland. Ireland, with its large agricultural and food sector, is very suited to biomethane. We are now seeing the industry gain momentum, and as part of our capex programme we are progressing five direct biomethane connections with three due to be commissioned before the end of the year.”
Gas Networks Ireland is investing in the development of new central grid injection (CGI) and biomethane network entry facilities to support this nascent industry. This includes a new €32 million CGI at Mitchelstown, Co Cork.
CGI facilities provide injection points for biomethane production sites that may be located too far away from the existing gas network. In this case, a viable alternative is to compress the biomethane to a higher pressure and transport it by trailer to a point where it can be injected into the gas network. CGIs will represent a critical aspect of biomethane injection, facilitating biomethane production regardless of a producer’s geographical location and proximity to the gas network.
“Construction has already commenced on Mitchelstown CGI, and we are aiming to finish in early 2026. We are planning to construct more CGI stations in other parts of the national gas network.”
The strategic importance of the gas network to Irish society and the economy should not be underestimated. “The gas network transports 54 terawatts (TW) of energy to almost 725,000 domestic and commercial customers,” Ahern points out. “We all know that electrification is key to meeting Ireland’s net zero targets, and gas will be a critical part of the plan.”
Indeed, the 14,758km gas network supplies 30 per cent of Ireland’s core energy demand and more than 80 per cent of electricity generation at times of low renewable availability.
“Energy security is paramount,” says Ahern. “Looking at the environment post the Ukraine war and the variability of renewables, new questions are being asked of network operators in terms of security of supply. Gas Networks Ireland has a very good track record in relation to security of supply and reliability. For example, from our perspective, there were no gas supply interruptions due to Storm Éowyn, partly because our network is underground. The feedback we get from our large industrial customers is that they know when they get a gas connection it is rock solid in terms of security of supply.”
Upgrading, maintaining and protecting this network is a mammoth task. Ahern’s 120-strong team oversees the engineering design and project delivery of critical infrastructure for both the transmission and distribution pipelines, compressor stations, AGIs, large customer connections and renewable energy infrastructure.
This team will deliver approximately 300 large projects and 50 high-volume programmes under the organisation’s 2025–29 capital works programme, with approximately 130 stand-alone projects in progress at any time.
“It’s a bit like performing surgery on a live patient,” says Ahern. “We need to keep the gas moving in the pipes while we are investing in the assets. When we do capital works, we have to work very closely with the operations division within Gas Networks Ireland to ensure we maintain supply at all times to our customers.”
Safety is always top of the agenda. “I am passionate about safety,” he says. “We make sure that safety is front and centre when we are planning any capital works. This serves two purposes: the construction project will happen in a safe way and is built to ensure the safe operation and maintenance of those assets by our colleagues into the future too.”
Ahern joined the organisation in the 1990s as a graduate engineer and believes Gas Networks Ireland offers attractive careers for newly qualified engineers.
“Our engineers get to work on nationally significant projects and the delivery of complex, high-value infrastructure with real-world impact. They also get opportunities to work on the front line of the energy transition on biomethane integration. Our retention rate is very good. Very few people leave the organisation. Young engineers can see a rewarding career path ahead of them. Our future success is critically dependent on our motivated team of people.”
There is also a strong focus on the recruitment and development of female engineers in what has traditionally been a male dominated space.
“Our ratio of male to female engineers has been improving,” says Ahern. “Almost 20 per cent of our engineers are female. We are encouraging more females to join Gas Networks Ireland, and this initiative is led by our director of people, Nicola McSweeney.
“We have a female development programme which is always oversubscribed. This programme won the Engineers Ireland continuing professional development (CPD) employer of the year award in 2024, which we are very proud of.”
