The possibility of any new operational offshore wind energy project being in place and generating energy by 2030 was described as unlikely at today's meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.
TDs and Senators heard about the present and possible situation for offshore wind development and the issues, difficulties and problems involved, which Capt Robert McCabe outlined, Chairman of the Government's Seafood and Offshore Renewable Energy Working Group; Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs Wind Energy Ireland and Laura Brien, CEO of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA. The politicians then questioned them.
The opportunities for wind energy were enormous, the Committee was told. Challenges identified included the impact on all users of the marine sphere, particularly the fishing industry and coastal communities, the proximity of developments to the shore, and the need to update port policy.
Capt. McCabe said there was a need for "good spatial baseline data" about the areas proposed for development, and there was a lack and shortage of such data. This particularly affected fishermen's ability to show the effects they feared from the impact on fishing areas.
"Acquiring data and sharing what we have needs to be improved," he said.
Justin Moran said coastal communities must be empowered to give and get their views. Recognising the importance of fishing was vital and other users of the maritime sphere, such as leisure and tourism must also be considered. There should not be exclusion of fishermen from offshore development areas and he suggested the Committee should seek government assurance of this because fishermen had indicated concern about this.
Laura Brien said the proximity of wind farm locations to shore depended on a number of aspects - what legislation would allow, the wind, seabed, commercial viability. There is no one answer, she said.
Amongst points made during the meeting were that targets set by the government for offshore wind generation would not be met; an updating of national ports policy in regard to offshore wind development should be undertaken. Discussions about this are expected in September.
The current blocking of involvement of fishermen and fishing boats in servicing offshore energy should be changed.
The marine spatial squeeze arising from the several demands being placed on the maritime space was also raised. Though acknowledged as a challenge, it was not given any specific answers. Questioning by politicians also focused on the impact of developments on space for fishing, leisure, and marine tourism, emerging as a public concern.
