RESS 6 Terms and Conditions Published

Following our February article on the consultation on the draft RESS 6 Terms and Conditions, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment published the final Terms and Conditions for the sixth Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction (“RESS 6”) on Friday, 17 July 2026. Many of the proposals we flagged in February have made it into the final document. This article picks up where the last one left off and sets out what qualifying applicants need to know now that the rules are final.

RESS 6 Timeline

Applicants have a narrower window than in previous rounds. The qualification and auction cycle runs as follows:

In practice, applicants have just four weeks, from 30 July to 27 August, to submit a complete Application for Qualification, and the Final Application Withdrawal Date (29 September) is the last point at which an applicant can walk away from the process with its Bid Bond returned in full.

Two Pots, and How They're Scored

The single biggest structural change in RESS 6 is the move away from a single, technology-neutral auction. Under RESS 5, all eligible projects competed in one pool, ranked purely on price. RESS 6 replaces this with two technology-specific Pots: (a) an Onshore Wind Pot and (b) a Solar Pot. Hybrid wind/solar projects are allocated according to whichever technology is designated as the primary technology; hybrid wind/storage and solar/storage projects sit within the pot of their generation technology. The Minister will set a representative maximum and minimum volume (RMax and RMin) for each pot, published in the Auction Information Pack, so wind and solar are no longer competing against each other for the same capacity.

Within each pot, RESS 6 also abandons pure price-based clearing. Offers are now ranked on a Composite Evaluation Score (CES), out of a maximum of 1.00, made up of three elements:

Scoring element	Maximum weight	Basis
Price Score	85%	Formula-based, scaled against the Pot's Maximum Offer Price Considered
Resilience Score	5%	Pass/fail, full marks if the Minimum Resilience Requirement is met, zero if not
Energy System Integration Score	10%	Scaled, up to 0.025 for a qualifying secondary technology, up to 0.075 for storage

 

Price therefore still does the vast majority of the work, but the 15% non-price element is where applicants need to pay close attention, because both components have hard qualifying thresholds rather than being simple bonus points.

Resilience Score: To score any points at all, a wind project must show that at least 75% of its final products do not originate from, or are not assembled in, the People's Republic of China, subject to detailed thresholds set out in the Terms and Conditions. Solar projects face an equivalent test on module assembly, inverters and cells. China is the only country referenced in these thresholds, but the test itself is not China-specific by design, it implements the EU's broader supply chain resilience framework under Regulation (EU) 2025/1176. There is no partial credit, an applicant either meets the Minimum Resilience Requirement and receives the full 5%, or it receives nothing. It will be interesting to see, for solar in particular, how many projects can meet this Minimum Resilience Requirement.

Energy System Integration Score: This rewards hybrid configurations and storage, but on a scaled, threshold basis. For hybrid configurations, a secondary technology only scores once it makes up at least 10% of the project's capacity, rising in bands based on its share of the projects total capacity. Hybrid configurations are worth a total of 2.5% of the overall score. Storage only scores once the project's storage capacity is at least equal to its generating capacity. As with hybrid configurations, the score increases in bands by storage duration, 1.5% at 2–4 hours and up to 7.5% for more than 8 hours. Storage is worth a total of 7.5% of the overall score. Storage output itself is metered separately and does not attract RESS payments; the incentive here is purely the scoring uplift.

No Withdrawal From RESS 6

Previously, all RESS auctions had let a successful applicant formally withdraw after award, subject to conditions. RESS 6 removes that route: once the Implementation Agreement is signed and the Letter of Offer received, a Generator cannot withdraw, repudiate, or be released from its obligations, in whole or in part.

Other Key Points

• Eligible technologies narrow from 10 categories to 6: Hydro, Biomass HECHP, Waste to Energy HECHP and Biogas HECHP are excluded entirely; leaving Onshore Wind, Solar, and four wind/solar/storage hybrid combinations (Wind + Solar, Wind + Storage, Solar + Storage, and Wind + Solar + Storage) as the Eligible Technologies.
• Two new pre-qualification declarations: Responsible Business Conduct and Cybersecurity & Data Security, reflecting the EU Net Zero Industry Act.
• UAEC survives: Despite being flagged for possible removal in February's consultation, curtailment/oversupply compensation continues on the same basis as RESS 5.
• Core financial parameters are unchanged: Renewable Capacity Factors (35% wind / 11% solar), Bid Bond (€6/MWh), Performance Security (€20/MWh), Community Benefit Fund (€2/MWh minimum) and maximum support duration (16.5 years) all carry over from RESS 5.
• Planning, grid connection and financing tests carry over from RESS 5: Applicants still need full planning permission, must be a Grid Contracted Project (an acceptable connection offer or signed agreement), and must meet the same financeability test.
• The repowering test has changed: RESS 5's 50%-output-uplift test is replaced by a capacity-based test requiring restoration to the site's existing Maximum Export Capacity, and the previous outright ban on sites that received other State support becomes a 20-year cooling-off period.
• Ability to Deliver: RESS 6 consolidates the Bid Bond, Grid Contract status, Planning Permission and Financial Questionnaire into one requirement, expressly confirmed in the Qualification Declaration. These requirements previously existed, but were not packaged as one formal confirmation.

RESS 5 to RESS 6 at a Glance

Feature	RESS 5	RESS 6
Auction structure	Single, technology-neutral pool	Two technology-specific Pots (Wind, Solar)
Winner selection	Price only (lowest bid wins)	Composite Evaluation Score (85% price + 15% non-price)
Non-price scoring	None	Resilience (5%, pass/fail) + Energy System Integration (10%, scaled)
Eligible technologies	10, incl. hydro & bioenergy	6, wind, solar & hybrid/storage only
Post-award withdrawal	Permitted (conditions apply)	Prohibited once Implementation Agreement is signed
Pre-qualification checks	Standard eligibility	+ Responsible Business Conduct & Cybersecurity declarations
Renewable Capacity Factor	Wind 35% / Solar 11%	Unchanged
Bid Bond	€6/MWh	Unchanged
Performance Security	€20/MWh	Unchanged
Community Benefit Fund	Min. €2/MWh	Unchanged
UAEC	Available	Retained
Maximum support duration	16.5 years	Unchanged

Conclusion

RESS 6 marks a significant change in Ireland's RESS auctions: a move from a single, price-only pool to two technology-specific pots, each cleared on a scoring framework that folds in resilience and system integration alongside price. This auction and associated bidding process is arguably the most complicated to date for onshore so have experienced advisors onboard to assist will be important. The removal of any post-award exit route sends a clear message, commit fully, or don't bid so applicants need to get it right first time as if the award price turns out to be incorrect there will be no opportunity to take the project to the open market for a CPPA.