Clogherhead Offshore Wind Farm "Not Fully Suspended"

Clogherhead Offshore Wind Farm "Not Fully Suspended" - ESB

18th October 2024

Lorna Siggins

The ESB says it has “not fully suspended” its Irish Sea Clogherhead Offshore Wind Farm joint venture as it awaits “policy clarity” from the Government

The ESB says it has “not fully suspended” one of its Irish Sea joint venture offshore wind farms as it awaits “policy clarity” from the Government.

The State company was responding to reports that it is pausing the Clogherhead offshore wind farm, one of two offshore projects planned for the Irish Sea.

The 1 billion euro 500 MW Clogherhead wind farm is a joint venture between the ESB and a unit of Japanese renewable energy firm Jera Nex named Parkwind.

In a statement, the ESB said that “the Clogherhead offshore wind project has been developed over recent years by ESB and Parkwind, with significant progress in various aspects of the project, including site investigations, environmental assessments and community engagement”.

“The site investigation activities includes comprehensive offshore surveys with geophysical and MetOcean survey campaigns completed during 2022 and 2023. This data will inform site understanding and design activities for the Clogherhead site,”it said.

“There are no further surveys planned for Clogherhead while the project awaits further policy clarity from the government regarding the location of Designated Martine Area Plans (DMAPs). This is part of the government’s plan-led approach to the delivery of offshore wind in Ireland,”it said.

“ESB and Parkwind believe the Clogherhead site is optimally suited for the delivery of offshore wind in Ireland and continue to monitor any government announcements in relation to any possible east coast DMAPs which will allow for further development of the Clogherhead project,”it said.

The consortium is also behind the 375MW Oriel wind farm off the Louth coast, which did not make it to the State’s offshore renewable energy support scheme (RESS) last year.

Last month, the joint venture confirmed to the Irish Independent that it had a potential corporate buyer lined up for the electricity that Oriel would generate, and the newspaper said this may be a large energy user linked to data centres.

Published in ESB Renewable Energy

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About The Author

Lorna Siggins

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Lorna Siggins is a print and radio reporter, and a former Irish Times western correspondent. She is the author of Search and Rescue: True stories of Irish Air-Sea Rescues and the Loss of R116 (2022); Everest Callling (1994) on the first Irish Everest expedition; Mayday! Mayday! (2004); and Once Upon a Time in the West: the Corrib gas controversy (2010). She is also co-producer with Sarah Blake of the Doc on One "Miracle in Galway Bay" which recently won a Celtic Media Award

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Offshore wind

ESB know the importance of offshore wind in tackling climate change and delivering net zero. Ireland has a unique capability given its prime location to take advantage of the potential of offshore wind. ESB are working hard to develop offshore wind projects for the benefit of everyone across society in Ireland and the UK. This includes ongoing engagement with marine users and local communities so ESB can deliver these significant projects.

Offshore wind will play a major role globally in our fight against climate change. It will help to replace energy generated by burning fossil fuels with that from a clean, safe and secure renewable energy source. Ireland’s geographic location on the exposed edge of the Atlantic presents us with a significant opportunity to generate electricity from wind – both offshore and onshore.

Power from onshore wind farms currently provide over one-third of Ireland’s electricity needs. But, whilst its marine area is many times the size of its landmass, Ireland’s offshore wind potential is only starting to be realised. ESB have a coastline stretching over 3,000km but only one operational offshore wind farm – Arklow Bank, with a capacity of 25 MW. In contrast, Belgium’s coastline is only 63km long, but it has already developed more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind. In Great Britain, with a coastline four times the length of ours, offshore wind generation now equates to over 440 Arklow Banks, with an installed capacity of 11,0000 MW as of late 2021.

The Irish Government's target to install 5,000 MW of offshore wind capacity in our maritime area by 2030 is set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. It also has the objective to source 80% of Ireland’s electricity needs from renewables by the same year. In line with this, ESB is applying its professional and proven engineering expertise to the challenges set within the Climate Action Plan.

ESB are committed to playing a strong role in developing Ireland’s offshore wind potential for the benefit of the people of Ireland. This will be done in consultation with marine users and local communities, and with due care for the marine environment.