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Displaying items by tag: SSE Renewables

Planning permission has been granted for the onshore infrastructure required for the second phase of the Arklow Bank Wind Park, according to the Business Post (subscription required).

SSE Renewables’ proposed €2.5 billion offshore wind project is earmarked for a site in the Irish Sea and is touted to generate 800MW of renewable wind energy upon its targeted completion in 2028.

In March, Afloat.ie noted the company’s plans to expand the second phase of the project thanks to a new planning regime under the Maritime Area Planning Act.

Published in Power From the Sea

SSE Renewables recently hosted a virtual round table discussion with key stakeholders in the wind energy industry, examining their role in delivering on the Irish Government’s ambition for offshore wind energy.

Among those taking part was Paul Brewster of the Irish Marine Development Office (IMDO), who was involved in supporting the work of the Development Task Force nearly five years ago as part of Ireland’s integrated marine plan, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth.

Offshore renewable energy was identified at the round table as a big growth area that could make a significant contribution to a step change in our ocean economy.

SSE Renewables, which is planning the expansion of Ireland’s first operating wind farm at Arklow Bank, says the policy and supports needed for the industry have now aligned.

And while all stakeholders had concerns about delays to foreshore licensing legislation, the industry has moved from hoping for progress to planning, and the conversations have become more commercially focused.

Read the full report from this round table discussion on pages 22-27 of the latest Eolas Magazine.

Published in Power From the Sea

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.