Capital Dynamics, a Swiss-headquartered global private asset manager, has agreed to buy a ready-to-build 170MW battery energy storage project at Knockanure, County Kerry, its first investment in Ireland and a signal that international infrastructure capital continues to view the Irish grid as an attractive market for long duration storage even as renewable curtailment concerns persist elsewhere in Europe. The project has secured grid connection capacity at the neighbouring 110kV Knockanure substation and planning consent since October 2025, with procurement and delivery planning now underway.

Capital Dynamics is a Zug, Switzerland-headquartered private asset management firm with more than $15 billion in assets under management, investing directly in clean energy infrastructure across Europe, Asia and North America since 2013.

Barney Coles, senior managing director and co-head of clean energy at Capital Dynamics, said: "The Republic of Ireland represents one of the most compelling storage markets in Europe and combines a high and rising share of renewable generation with a clear policy commitment to decarbonise its grid."

The acquisition lands as EirGrid works through its first dedicated procurement scheme for long duration storage, which initially proposed just 201MW of new capacity against a government target of at least 500MW by 2030, a gap industry groups have called too cautious. A single 170MW project represents a meaningful share of that entire national procurement round.

The timing also responds to a gap market analysts have flagged repeatedly: Cornwall Insight has warned of a policy vacuum for long duration storage even as Ireland's renewable generation share continues rising, leaving the grid short of the multi-hour flexibility needed to avoid curtailing wind and solar output on high-generation days.

For an international investor making its first Irish move, buying a project that already holds grid connection capacity and planning consent removes two of the biggest sources of delay in Irish renewables development, letting Capital Dynamics move straight to procurement rather than carrying multi-year development risk.

For the sector, a global infrastructure investor entering Ireland specifically for long duration storage, rather than wind or solar, signals that capital increasingly views grid flexibility itself as the more urgent investable gap.

Source: RTE / Lexology