RESS 4 - Provisional Auction Timetable Published

The Irish Government is running the fourth onshore auction under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS 4). As with its predecessors, it aims to assist Ireland in reaching its goal of generating 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with targets including 9GW of onshore wind and 8GW of solar photovoltaic capacity.

Provisional RESS 4 auction timetable

The provisional timetable for the RESS 4 auction was published on 4 April 2024 by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and EirGrid. The provisional timetable sets out the proposed key dates for the auction process, including qualification, bidding and the announcement of results.

The key temporary dates and timelines for RESS 4 are:

Qualification application window: open from 10:00 on 20 May 2024 until 17:00 on 4 June 2024.
Provisional qualification decision date: this will be published on 4 July 2024.
Final application withdrawal date: 8 July 2024.
Final qualification decision date: 26 July 2024.
Bidding window: running from 10:00 on 22 August 2024 until 12:00 on 28 August 2024.
Provisional auction results date: 9 September 2024.
Final auction results date: 25 September 2024.

This provisional timetable should be helpful to prospective applicants and participants in RESS 4 who are planning their engagement with the auction process. The final version of the timetable is expected to be published on 1 May 2024.

Terms and Conditions still pending

We recently published an article regarding the consultation process around the terms and conditions of RESS 4, which closed for submission in late March. At the time of writing, the terms and conditions have not yet been published, although this is expected imminently.

It is hoped that publication of the final RESS 4 Terms and Conditions will settle any residual uncertainty around the timing of publication of any technology-specific price cap, and whether this will leave auction participants with the ability to withdraw in the event that they consider the cap level to be inconsistent with project viability.

Next steps

The final RESS 4 auction timetable is expected to be published on 1 May 2024, and the final RESS 4 Terms and Conditions during this month of April 2024.

DECC’s provisional timetable is available here.

For more information and expert guidance, contact a member of our Energy team.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.