Gas Networks Ireland, which is working with the government, has gone on to report that it is making progress when it comes to the critical FSRU project. Called the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve, the project is designed in order to safeguard LNG imports that have become quite a critical part of the energy supply in Ireland.
It was in March 2025 that the government approved the project, underlining that at present 80% of the LNG supply of the country comes through two interconnectors from Britain. They said that any sort of an interruption is going to have an unimaginable impact on the electricity and heating across Ireland, both for homes as well as businesses. Gas at present offers almost 30% of the primary energy needs of Ireland and typically goes on to generate 40% of Ireland’s electricity. During the peak demand periods, gas can make up almost 80% of the electricity generation for the country.
Gas Networks Ireland has gone on to report that it has completed the search for the most apt location to place the first Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve of Ireland. Initially, 14 possible sites were considered. The engineers of the company undertook a detailed site evaluation in Cork Harbor as well as in the Shannon Estuary. All the sites were assessed for their technical, environmental, and planning as well as financial merits.
Cahiracon in County Clare, which is along the Shannon Estuary, was selected. The next step calls for more scoping as well as designs in order to refine the project as well as cost estimates.
The plan calls for having the FSRU at a deep-water jetty, which gets the support of an onshore facility. It will need a new connection to the national gas network. The FSRU is going to be owned as well as operated by Gas Networks Ireland for the state.
As per the company, there are over 50 operating floating storage as well as regasification units across the world at present. They believe it is going to offer critical support in order to ensure consistency in gas supply across Ireland. No timeline has been announced as to when the FSRU could get in place.