The release of Ireland’s Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP) is warmly welcomed by the EAI as it sets out a strategic framework to ensure that the growth of energy-intensive industries aligns with national climate targets and the transition to a low-carbon, electrified society. This progressive plan is clear that as demand for electricity rises, Ireland’s energy supply must decarbonise while safeguarding energy security and competitiveness and aligns with our series of Strategy Papers: Electrifying Society , An Investment Framework for Decarbonised Dispatchable Generation , and Decarbonising the Electricity System.
A central pillar of the LEAP is the decarbonisation of industrial energy use. The plan sets out 17 enabling actions, demonstrating how future large energy users with indigenous renewable electricity will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions. This approach supports Ireland’s wider climate objectives while ensuring that industrial growth does not undermine progress toward net-zero targets. Through innovative grid connection contracts, the plan promotes greater demand side flexibility by LEUs, with the aim of unlocking sustainable LEU and green energy park developments.
Diagram 1: LEAP Delivery Mode
LEAP also reflects the reality that electrification is set to accelerate across the economy. From industry and data services to heat and transport, electricity demand is expected to grow significantly. Action 1 highlights the need for forward-looking electricity infrastructure investment through the likes of PR6 and the creation of the Accelerating Renewable Electricity Taskforce, so that electrification can proceed in a way that is both sustainable and resilient. Preparing the energy system for this transition is considered essential to maintaining Ireland’s economic competitiveness while decarbonising society, and the €18.9 billion allocated under PR6, alongside additional resources provided through new taskforces, is a positive development.
A defining feature of the plan is the promotion of Green Energy Parks. These are designated locations where large energy users can be co-located with renewable generation, energy storage, dispatchable generation and grid infrastructure. By integrating supply and demand in a single, planned location, energy parks offer a potential practical mechanism to decarbonise large electricity loads while easing pressure on the wider grid.
Energy parks can allow renewable energy to be used more efficiently, reduce connection and infrastructure risks, and support faster delivery of both industrial and energy projects. Importantly, they offer a pathway for major electrified industries to complement the electrification needs of local homes, transport and communities.
Through a plan-led, coordinated approach, LEAP seeks to align industrial development with renewable energy deployment, grid planning and climate policy. In doing so, it reinforces the potential role of energy parks as strategic assets in Ireland’s transition to a decarbonised, electrified economy, supporting sustainable growth while meeting long-term climate and energy goals. The EAI looks forward to future developments and engagement in this space, especially the release of the National Planning Statement for Green Energy Parks.
Diagram 2: Green Energy Park Concept Drawing
