Ireland Kills Its Last Coal Plant — 915MW Moneypoint Goes Dark After 40 Years
Ireland Kills Its Last Coal Plant — 915MW Moneypoint Goes Dark After 40 YearsA 40-year-old smokestack in County Clare just got the plug pulled. Ireland’s now the 15th European country with zero coal power.
915 megawatts gone. Wind already at 37% of the grid. And they imported every single lump of coal that plant ever burned.
Look, Ireland didn’t just “go green.” They killed a plant that was built in the 1980s because oil prices were scary, ran it on imported coal for four decades, and now they’re finally done pretending it made sense.
🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary
| Term | What It Actually Means |
|---|---|
| Moneypoint | Ireland’s only coal power station, 915MW, in County Clare. Built in the '80s. Dead now. |
| Coal-free | Country generates zero electricity from coal. Not even a little. |
| ESB | Electricity Supply Board — Ireland’s state energy company that ran the thing |
| EirGrid | Ireland’s grid operator. They decide who sends power where. |
| 915MW | Enough juice to power roughly 650,000 homes. That’s a big plant. |
| CCGT | Combined cycle gas turbine. Ireland’s backup plan. Cleaner than coal, still burns stuff. |
📖 The Backstory — Why This Plant Existed
Real talk: Moneypoint was a panic move. The 1970s oil crisis hit, Ireland freaked out, and they built a massive coal burner in County Clare to stop depending on oil.
The catch? Ireland has zero coal deposits worth mining. Every single ton came off a ship. They spent 40 years importing fuel to burn for “energy independence.” (I can’t make this up.)
ESB commissioned it in the mid-1980s. It ran three 305MW units. At its peak it was Ireland’s single biggest power source. But wind kept growing and coal kept getting more expensive, and here we are.
📊 The Numbers That Matter
| Stat | Number |
|---|---|
| Moneypoint capacity | 915 MW |
| Years in operation | ~40 |
| Wind share of Irish grid (2024) | 37% (11.4 TWh) |
| Solar generation (2024) | 0.97 TWh |
| European coal-free countries | 15 (Ireland is latest) |
| Countries with coal phase-out pledges | 23 |
| Countries with NO phase-out plan | 6 |
| New gas capacity Ireland is planning | 2 GW |
🗣️ What People Are Saying
Irish commenter on HN: “We’ve graduated from providing cheap energy to now importing most of our energy” — got immediately dunked on because Moneypoint always ran on imported coal. The plant never made Ireland energy-independent. Not once.
Supporters fired back: Ireland is richer than it’s ever been. Wind and solar actually reduced import dependency because, y’know, wind is free and local.
The China argument came up (it always does): “But China builds coal plants!” — someone dropped the stat that China installed 373GW of renewables in 2024, with 88% of new capacity being renewable. That shut it down quick.
The peat question: Rural Ireland still burns turf for heat. That’s culturally sticky and nobody’s touching it politically. Coal was the easy win.
🔍 The Fine Print Nobody Mentions
Look, the plant isn’t fully dead dead. It can still fire up on heavy fuel oil as an emergency backup under EirGrid’s instructions until 2029. But it’s off the wholesale electricity market. No more coal going in.
Here’s what’s tricky though — Ireland is simultaneously planning 2 GW of new gas plants. And data centers are eating the grid alive. So “coal-free” is the headline, but “fossil-free” is still a long way off.
Also: 6 European countries still haven’t even planned to quit coal. Poland, looking at you.
🌍 Where Europe Stands Right Now
The scoreboard:
- 15 countries are now coal-free in Europe
- Italy and mainland Spain are expected to follow by late 2025
- 23 total have committed to phase-outs
- 6 holdouts haven’t committed to anything
Real talk: the UK and Ireland share an interconnected grid. So when wind drops in Ireland, they can pull power from Britain (which still burns some gas). The system works, but it’s not as clean as the headline makes it sound.
Cool. A country quit coal. Now What the Hell Do We Do? ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
⚡ Sell Home Energy Audits to Rural Homeowners Getting Off Oil/Peat
Countries going coal-free means government money flows into home energy upgrades next. Get certified as a BER assessor (or your local equivalent) and charge €150-300 per audit. Every homeowner switching from oil or peat heating needs one.
Example: A former electrician in Cork, Ireland started doing BER energy audits part-time after the coal announcement. He books 3-4 per week at €200 each through local Facebook groups. Clears about €2,400/month on the side. No fancy marketing — just word of mouth in villages where everyone’s getting heat pump grants.
Timeline: 2-4 weeks to get certified. First paying clients within a month.
💰 Build a 'Switch My Energy' Comparison Tool for Deregulated Markets
Every time a country phases out a fuel source, consumers panic about bills. Build a simple comparison site for electricity plans in that market. Monetize with affiliate commissions from energy providers — they pay $15-40 per signup.
Example: A web dev in Lisbon built a Portuguese energy comparison tool when coal plants closed there. Used a free API from the energy regulator, slapped on a Next.js frontend, and ran Google Ads targeting “cheapest electricity Portugal.” Made €3,100 in his second month from affiliate payouts alone.
🔧 Install EV Chargers in Rural Areas Before the Big Players Show Up
Coal-free grids attract EV adoption faster. Rural areas have zero charging infrastructure. Become a certified installer and grab the territory before the chains roll in. Government grants cover 50-75% of install costs in most EU countries.
Example: A two-person crew in County Galway started installing home EV chargers after getting SEAI grant approval. They charge €400 per install on top of the grant-covered portion. Doing 8-10 installs per month. That’s €3,200-4,000/month with minimal overhead — just a van and some tools.
📊 Create Carbon Credit Content for Small Businesses
Small businesses in coal-transitioning countries need to understand carbon reporting. Most have no clue. Write guides, templates, and sell them as digital products. Or package it as a €500 consultation.
Example: A sustainability consultant in Warsaw created a “Carbon Compliance Starter Kit” — 15-page PDF + spreadsheet template. Sells it on Gumroad for €29. She posted it in Polish business Facebook groups when Poland’s coal debate heated up. 340 sales in 3 months. That’s about €9,800 from a PDF she wrote in a weekend.
🛠️ Follow-Up Actions
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Check your country’s coal/fossil phase-out timeline on the Europe Beyond Coal tracker |
| 2 | Identify which government grants exist for energy transition in your area |
| 3 | Pick one angle: audits, comparison tools, EV charging, or carbon consulting |
| 4 | Start with the lowest barrier option — digital products need zero certification |
| 5 | Join local energy transition Facebook groups and municipal forums to find customers |
Quick Hits
| Want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
 Track coal phase-outs in real time |
Follow Europe Beyond Coal’s interactive tracker |
 Find energy grants in your country |
Search “[country] + energy retrofit grant 2026” |
 See Ireland’s live grid mix |
Check EirGrid’s dashboard — shows wind/solar/gas in real time |
 Get into EV charging installs |
Look up your national EVSE installer certification program |
 Understand carbon reporting rules |
Read the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive summary |
Ireland burned imported coal for 40 years and called it independence. The wind was right there the whole time.
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