Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney has announced plans to develop a National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind which will set out how Ireland can maximise the economic opportunity arising from the production of offshore wind energy (OWE).

Ireland’s offshore energy programme includes a target to deliver 5GW of OWE by 2030 and a further 2GW of floating OWE to be in development by 2030. The total target for OWE rises to at least 37GW by 2050. This forms part of the Government’s target to provide 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

In order to deliver the enterprise opportunities associated with these targets, the Government says a collaborative approach between State and industry is needed.

The National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind will be developed in consultation with the relevant Government departments, agencies and industry, with the objective of ensuring that Ireland fully captures the value of both the supply chain to deliver an OWE sector at scale and the routes to market for this renewable energy.

It is expected that the National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind will be published in the first quarter of 2024 and complement the suite of upcoming government policies led by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications through the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce.

Announcing the plan, Minister Coveney said: “The impact of recent geopolitical events on the European energy market has accelerated our decarbonisation ambitions and added real urgency to transitioning to clean, renewable energy.

“Ireland has an internationally recognised significant offshore wind resource which we are now beginning to develop. It is essential to ensure that our enterprise sector is ready to contribute to the delivery of offshore wind, while also maximising the economic benefit which will arise from the availability of abundant clean, renewable energy.”

The minister said the announcement “is an important step towards developing new, regionally dispersed economic opportunities based on offshore wind, and I very much look forward to working with colleagues across Government and industry over the coming months as we develop an industrial strategy that will deliver real long-term benefits to both the economy and society”.

Welcoming the strategy, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said: “Developing an offshore wind sector requires a whole-of-economy mobilisation, and an industrial strategy will provide a clear signal to international markets that across government, and indeed across Ireland; we are serious about this opportunity.”

Minister Coveney made the announcement on the eve of EirGrid’s auction for offshore wind project contracts this past week.

Codling Wind Park and three other projects were successful in this first auction of its kind in Ireland and all are expected to pursue their respective planning approvals.