Northern Ireland’s geological gift could be key to backing up intermittent renewable energy generation as renewables continue to be rolled out.

Mutual Energy CEO Paddy Larkin told the Irish Farmers Journal at the recent NI Energy Forum that while wind and solar will continue to grow, they cannot meet winter energy demand alone.

Biomethane and hydrogen will be essential, he said, but only if they can be stored at scale.

That is where the salt caverns beneath Islandmagee come in. Situated on the Islandmagee peninsula beside Larne Lough, the project led by Islandmagee Energy Ltd, proposed carving out seven underground caverns in a Permian salt formation roughly 1,500m below the lough, enabling storage of up to 500 million m³ of gas. These caverns would provide large-scale, long-duration storage, supporting security of supply for both Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland.

Geological gift

Larkin called the salt formations a “geological gift,” noting they are the only known onshore deposits in Ireland suitable for airtight gas storage. However, the project faces significant jeopardy. In June 2024, Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland succeeded in legal action quashing the required marine licence over environmental concerns.

Paddy also explained that the scheme remains stalled due to its commercial risk. Storage projects rely on price arbitrage, he noted, and “no bank will lend” without government-backed contracts or long-term revenue certainty.

Listen to the full chat with Paddy Larkin by following this link.