County: Clare
Fuel type: Coal; Oil
Capacity: 915MW
Status: Active
Commissioned: 1985
Moneypoint is one of Ireland’s largest generating stations. It utilises three Brown Boveri Turbines, each with a capacity of 305 MW, leading to a total capacity of 915 MW – around 7 million MW hours/year.
Coal was the primary fuel; however, Moneypoint also has two Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes.
At full output, the station consumed approximately 7,000 tonnes of coal per day – around two million tonnes a year. Extensive coal-handling facilities were developed on site, including a deep-water jetty capable of accepting vessels of up to 250,000 dead weight tonnes and a 600,000 tonne coal storage area. (A typical coal shipment was around 140,000 tonnes).
In 2008, ESB completed a major environmental equipment upgrade to ensure the plant complies with the strictest environmental requirements for flue gas desulphurisation (SO2) and selective catalytic reduction (NOx).
In late June 2025, the plant stopped using coal entirely. For the next few years, it will run exclusively on oil – a much less carbon-intensive fuel – and will only operate when called upon as a back-up should there be a shortage in supply on the Irish grid. The long-term vision for the almost 500-acre site is to transform it into one of Ireland’s largest green energy hubs, helping the country move away from fossil fuels by unlocking home-grown offshore wind power.
The 1985 documentary "Moneypoint - Power From Coal' details the construction and engineering milestones of Moneypoint Generation Station.
The c.1986-1989 documentary "400kV Transmission Lines from Moneypoint" describes the design and construction of two 400kV transmission lines running from Moneypoint station to the main load stations on the east coast of Ireland.
Moneypoint Station was featured on a 40-minute long Clare FM radio documentary, broadcast 31 July 2022. Programme includes interviews with station manager Stevie O’Mahoney, colleague John Bonfil and ESB Senior Archivist Tanya Keyes.
For more information about Moneypoint Generating Station, see this extract from "A Heritage Inventory of ESB Buildings in Ireland".
