The gas-fired Dublin Bay Power Plant, owned 30 per cent by Statoil, recently began trial operation to supply electricity to the Irish market.
Located in Ireland's capital, Dublin, the facility was connected to the national grid on 21 January.
Its initial output is roughly 70 megawatts, but plans call for that to be increased to 120 megawatts from March as the commissioning and testing process continues.
The gas-fired power station is Ireland’s most modern. Comprising a gas turbine, a steam turbine and a generator, it has the capacity to generate 400 megawatts.
Statoil and its partner in the development, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), have established an independent power company called Synergen to develop and operate the new facility.
Paddy Hayes, general manager of Synergen, says that the start-up phase will be used for testing and technical adjustments.
He confirms that the power station should be able to operate at 95 per cent of capacity by the summer.
Overall investment in the gas-fired facility comes to roughly EUR 250 million.
Once fully operational, the Dublin Bay Power Plant will supply 10 per cent of Ireland’s electricity needs.