Eirgrid is committed to ensuring the voice of coastal communities is “factored in” to its projects involving the marine space, its fisheries liaison officer Ronan Lynch has said.
Originally from Ballycotton, Co Cork, Lynch is a former professional sailor who has competed in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race.
His role is to ensure that the views and needs of fishing communities in relation to Eirgrid’s work are taken into account in decision making.
As Ireland looks to offshore wind to increase the amount of renewable resources connected to the electricity grid, marine issues have become “a top priority” in planning projects, Eirgrid says.
“Growing up on the pier in Ballycotton in east Cork, I have always had an interest in anything to do with the ocean, “Lynch says.
“I started fishing from a young age, helping my grandfather on his boat, Inis Barra,”he says.
“I’m also fifth generation in my family to serve as part of the RNLI crew member in the Ballycotton lifeboat fleet,”he says.
Following his qualification as a commercial yachtmaster, and time as a professional sailor, Ronan raced competitively all over the world, including the famous Sydney to Hobart race on numerous occasions..
“The role of the fisheries liaison officer is to assist with the establishment and maintenance of effective communications between offshore projects and the seafood and marine representatives and fishing communities,”he says.
“My main objective is to facilitate effective communication and collaboration to ensure best fishing practices and the promotion of the energy sector,” he says.
EirGrid says it is playing a key role in meeting the Government’s Climate Action Plan commitment of having 80% of the State’s electricity needs coming from renewable energy.
A central pillar of this effort will be the connection of 5GW of offshore generation by 2030.
Offshore wind ensures access to an abundant, indigenous source of clean energy that will limit our reliance on imported energy and reduce the prospects of supply shocks, Eirgrid says.
“Coastal communities around the country will benefit from the new green economy, with huge potential for jobs and skills and regional development arising from the construction and maintenance of offshore renewable energy resources,”it says.
EirGrid is also a member of a European Fisheries working group - OCEaN (Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature) - and the Seafood/ORE working group in Ireland.
This enables it to “share previous and upcoming studies on fisheries with both local organisations and other EU countries”, Lynch says.
