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Displaying items by tag: Trinity

#Rowing: NUIG/Grainne Mhaol won the men’s senior four on the first day of the Irish Rowing Championships today. Alan Martin’s crew overtook long-time leaders Commercial and beat them by over two seconds at the National Rowing Centre. It was Martin’s 10th senior fours crown and his 21st championship.

John Keohane roared with relief after taking his fourth consecutive senior single sculls championship. He was tested coming up to the finish by Erik Rowan, but had built up a big lead and was able to win by over a second. Old Collegians won the men’s senior double by a big margin.

The women’s senior four went to Trinity and the senior pair to UCC. The men’s junior eight saw Portora tested by St Joseph’s of Galway, but the Enniskillen club prevailed. Patrick Munnelly of Athlone won the junior single.

Bann’s crew of Rebecca Meenagh, Erin Barry, Hannah Scott and Katie Shirlow won the women’s junior four by .36 of a second from fast-finishing Skibbereen.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Club: 1 Queen’s 6:03.62, 2 Cork BC 6:03.93, 3 UCD 6:08.53. Junior: 1 Portora 6:00.69, 2 St Joseph’s 6:03.82, 3 Bann 6:13.00.

Four – Senior: 1 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol 6:11.63, 2 Commercial 6:13.97, 3 UCC 6:21.35. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG 6:41.64, 2 St Michael’s 6:44.03, 3 UCD 6:49.83.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Commercial 7:38.90.

Double – Senior: 1 Old Collegians 6:59.99, 2 Garda 7:12.07, 3 St Michael’s 7:48.13.

Single – Senior: 1 Lee Valley (J Keohane) 7:15.02, 2 Skibbereen (E Rowan) 7:16.08, 3 Skibbereen (J Ryan) 7:18.78. Junior: 1 Athone (P Munnelly) 7:32.18, 2 Shandon (R Byrne) 7:34.19, 3 Bann (D Mitchell) 7:36.09.

Women

Eight – Intermediate: 1 UCD 6:40.99, 2 NUIG 6:55.31, 3 Garda 7:00.87.

Four – Senior: 1 Trinity 7:13.81, 2 UCC/Cork BC 7:17.54, 3 Skibbereen 7:45.50. Club, coxed: 1 NUIG 7:27.35, 2 Cork BC 7:37.45, 3 Queen’s A 7:43.13. Junior: 1 Bann 7:05.57, 2 Skibbereen 7:05.93, 3 St Michael’s 6:21.65.

Pair – Senior: 1 UCC 7:37.44, 2 Trinity 7:48.40, 3 Shannon A 7:52.21. Inter: 1 Shannon 8:00.04, 2 Cork BC 8:10.49, 3 UCC 8:12.14.

Sculling, Quadruple – Novice, coxed: 1 Fermoy 7:48.72, 2 NUIG 8:05.59, 3 Castleconnell 8:14.48.

Double – Junior: 1 Skibbereen 7:37.95, 2 Bann 7:44.66, 3 Lee A 7:51.45.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for June are Trinity’s men’s senior eight. The Dublin University Boat Club crew had a convincing win in the Division One final at Cork Regatta, outpacing UCD and NUIG/Gráinne Mhaol. They crew took the Leander trophy, one of the most impressive prizes on offer in Irish sport. Well done to: Gearóid Mahon, Ian Hurley, John Magan, Michael Corcoran, Patrick Moreau, Mark Kelly, Liam Hawkes, David Butler and cox Cian Flynn.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2015. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2015 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Trinity bowed out of the Temple Cup for student eights at Henley Royal Regatta, losing by two-thirds of a length to Cornell University of the United States. Cornell, who had a close call against Oxford Brookes B in the first round, got off to a good start and took the lead. The heavier Trinity crew were able to limit that lead to about three-quarters of a length, but could not draw level, and encountered problems with their steering. Cornell covered a late push to win.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Two (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eights, Student): Cornell University, United States bt Trinity 2/3 l 6 mins 39 sec.

Princess Elizabeth (Eights, Schoolboy): Gonzaga College High School, United States bt Portora Royal School ½ l, 6:38

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity had a convincing win in the first round of the Temple Cup for student eights at Henley Royal Regatta today. The Dublin crew started well and powered away from the lighter crew from two colleges in Cambridge, Pembroke and Caius. Trinity were in command down the course into a headwind and came under no pressure. They won by three and one quarter lengths.


Henley Royal Regatta, Day One (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eights, Student): Trinity bt Pembroke and Caius Colleges, Cambridge 3 1/4 l, 6 mins 49 secs

Wyfold Cup (Fours, Club): Nottingham RC 'A' bt Lady Elizabeth BC 2 1/2 l, 7:39

Published in Rowing
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#ROWING: Trinity won the men’s eights impressively at the Cork Regatta at the National Rowing Centre today. The college crew took an early lead and extended it to a length at 500 metres. The chasing UCD and NUIG/Grainne Mhaol crews looked never likely to catch Trinity from that point on. The winning margin was over five seconds, with UCD taking second. NUIG’s intermediate crew won the women’s eights by an even bigger margin of over seven seconds from Skibbereen’s junior 18A eight.

Cork Regatta, National Rowing Centre (Selected Results)

Sunday

Men

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 Trinity (senior) 5:40.667, 2 UCD (intermediate) 5:45.957, 3 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol 5:46.533; 4 Queen’s (Club One) 5:54.94; 5 St Joseph’s (jun 18A) 6:02.257. B Final: UCD (Club One) 6:01.593. C Final: Trinity (Club One) 6:28.997.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol (sen) 6:07.807, 2 UCC A 6:10.83, 3 Carlow (sen) 6:15.543. Four, coxed – Div Two – A Final: Skibbereen (Club Two) 6:43.837. B Final: Trinity (Club Two) 7:04.517; 3 Col Iognaid (jun 16) 7:06.357.

Sculling

Quadruple – Div Two – A Final: Cork (jun 16) 6:45.45; 6 Lee (Club Two) 7:03.56. B Final: Workmans (jun 16) 6:59.8; 4 Workman’s (jun 18B) 7:06.817. C Final: Carlow (jun 16) 7:05.697.

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Old Collegians (D Neale, S Jacob; sen) 6:29.50, 2 Portadown/Skibbereen (sen) 6:34.43, 3 Shandon (jun 18A) 6:44.873. B Final: Waterford (inter) 6:46.473. C Final: Lee (inter) 6:48.227; 4 Methody (Club One) 7:10.627.

Single – Div Two – A Final: Belfast BC (A Murray; jun 18B) 7:35.483, 2 Cappoquin (Aherne; club two) 7:5.052; 4 Lee (Jackson, jun 16) 7:49.427. B Final: Clonmel (Dundon; jun 16) 7:49.347. C Final: St Michael’s (O’Byrne; jun 16) 7:48.40.

Women

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 NUIG (inter) 6:43.177, 2 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 6:50.87, Commercial (inter) 6:57.593. Four – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (jun 18A) 7:08.330, 2 Shannon (sen) 7:12.137, 3 Skibbereen (sen) 7:27.62. Div Two, coxed – A Final: Queen’s A (Club Two) 7:27.26; 6 St Michael’s (jun 16) 8:32.17.

Sculling

Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (A Casey, E Hegarty; jun 18A) 7:28.957, 2 Lee (jun 18A) 7:33.43, 3 St Michael’s (inter) 7:43.430. B Final: Belfast BC A (inter) 7:39.570.

Single – Div Two – A Final: Lee (Cremin; Club Two) 8:16.437; Workman’s (Burns; jun 16) 8:32.55; 6 Shandon (jun 18B) 8:59.37. B Final: Cork (jun 16) 8:52.337. C Final: Lee Valley (jun 16) 8:56.26.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s entry for Henley Royal Regatta is again relatively small this year. Trinity and Portora Royal School have entered eights, while Lady Elizabeth Boat Club and Belfast Rowing Club have both entered Wyfolds fours. UCC have entered a coxed four for the Prince Albert Cup. Qualifying races take place on Friday, June 26th; while the regatta starts on Wednesday, July 1st.

Henley Royal Regatta Entries (Irish interest)

Temple Cup (Eight, Student): Trinity College, Dublin

Princess Elizabeth (Eight, Schoolboy): Portora Royal School

Wyfold Cup (Four, Club and University): Lady Elizabeth; Belfast Rowing Club

Prince Albert (Fours, coxed, Student): University College, Cork

Diamond Sculls (Single, Open): A Campbell

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Trinity won the senior men’s and women’s races at the Lagan Construction University Boat Races in Belfast today. Queen’s closed fast on Trinity coming up to the line in the men’s race and lost by a narrow margin. The senior women’s race was a more decisive win for the visitors, who had a strong senior crew. There was a strong headwind for the 11th annual running of the event.

Lagan Construction University Boat Races, Belfast

Men

Senior: Trinity bt Queen’s, canvas

Fresher: Queen’s bt Trinity

Junior 18, Ulster Schools: Portora bt Bann.

Junior 16 (Craig Cup): Portora bt Methodist College

Alumni: Queen’s bt Trinity, 1 ft

Women

Senior: Trinity bt Queen’s

Fresher: Trinity bt Queen’s, disq

Junior 18 (Bobby Platt Cup); Bann bt Portora

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCD took some late and notable wins at Trinity Regatta in Islandbridge today. They won the intermediate men’s eight final with a convincing win over the hosts, and also took the club eights with a win over Queen’s. Trinity’s A crew had just one and a quarter lengths to spare over their B crew in the men’s senior eights final – suggesting that had UCD put out a senior eight there could have been a good race. Commercial’s Neil Gahan and Colm Dowling won the senior pair and were part of Commercial’s winning four, while Damien Kelly won the senior single sculls, beating Fionnán Groome, and the intermediate single, where he was given a serious test by clubmate Ronan Allen. Bann won the junior 18 women’s eight and coxed four.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge, Saturday (Finals, Selected Results):

Men

Eight – Senior: Trinity A bt Trinity B 1¼ l. Intermediate: UCD bt Trinity 3¾ l. Club: UCD A bt Queen’s ¼ l. Novice: Queen’s bt Trinity A 3ft. Jun 16: Commercial bt Methodist canvas. Junior 15: Reading A bt Commercial ½l. Masters: Neptune bt Old Collegians ¼l.

Four – Senior, coxed: Commercial A bt Trinity B 4l. Intermediate, coxed: UCD bt Cork 1¾ l. Club, coxed: UCD B bt UCD A 2½ l. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Commercial ¼l.

Pair – Senior: Commercial B bt Lady Elizabeth/Old Collegians easily.

Sculling

Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Reading bt Trinity easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Athlone bt Graiguenamanagh 1½ l. Junior 16, coxed: Methody bt Three Castles 1l. Jun 15, coxed: Graiguenamanagh bt Commercial A easily.

Double – Senior: Trinity bt Belfast 4½ l. Jun 15: Neptune bt Reading easily.

Single – Senior: Garda (D Kelly) bt Commercial (F Groome) 1¼ l Club: Garda (R Allen) bt Trinity (Browne) easily. Intermediate: Garda (D Kelly) bt Garda (R Allen) 1l. Jun 18: Athlone (Munnelly) bt Graiguenamanagh (Lennon) easily. Jun 16: Athlone (Byrne) bt Three Castles (Irwin) 1l. Jun 15: Commercial bt Neptune 3l. Masters: Commercial (O’Toole) bt Belfast BC (Curran) 1½ l

Women

Eight –Intermediate: Trinity bt Queen’s easily. Club: Commercial bt Queen’s 2¾ l. Novice: Queen’s bt Methodist College, Belfast easily. Jun 18: Bann bt Neptune easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Bann 2¾ l.

Four – Club, coxed: Garda bt UCD ¼ l. Jun 18, four: Bann bt Methody easily.

Sculling

Quadruple – Novice, coxed: Carlow bt UCD easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Bann bt Carlow 1¼ l. Jun 16, coxed: Carlow bt Commercial canvas. Junior 15, coxed: Commercial bt Carlow 2l.

Double – Jun 15: Athlone bt Commercial 4l.

Single – Club One: Methody (Deyermond) bt Garda easily. Junior 18: Neptune (Coleman). Jun 16: Three Castles (Darcy) bt Carlow (Nolan) easily. Jun 15: Three Castles (Darker) bt Athlone (Donovan) easily.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING – Trinity took the overall title and the Wylie Cup for men and the Bank of Ireland trophy for women at the Irish University Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork today. The Wylie and Bank of Ireland trophies are decided on the results of senior, intermediate and novice eights – and in both men and women, there were different winners for the three grades. The results from second and third places gave Trinity the decisive edge. While Trinity were comprehensive winners over NUIG in the senior men's grade, UCD were similarly impressive in the winning the women's senior eight.

Irish University Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Selected Results)
Men
Eight: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 UCC; 2l, 1l. Intermediate: 1 UCD, 2 UCC, 3 Trinity; 3l, 1l. Club: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 Queen's; bowball, 1l. Novice: 1 Queen's A, 2 Trinity A, 3 UCD; 2l, 1l.
Four – Sen: 1 UCC, 2 NUIG, 3 Trinity; canvas, 1l. Inter, coxed: 1 UCD, 2 Trinity, 3 UCC; 5l, 2l. Club, coxed: 1 Trinity, 2 UCC, 3 Dublin IT; 1 ½ l, 1l.
Pair – Senior: 1 UCD, 2 Trinity; 2½ l.
Sculling
Quadruple – Novice, coxed: 1 Dublin IT A, 2 Trinity, 3 NUIG; 3l, 3l.
Double – Intermediate: 1 Cork IT, 2 UCD, 3 Dublin IT; 5l, easily.
Single – Senior: 1 Queen's (C Beck), 2 Trinity (I Hurley). Inter: 1 UCD (A Griffin), 2 UCD (S Toland), 3 Cork IT (M Ryan); 2½ l, distance.
Women
Eight: 1 UCD, 2 Trinity A, 3 UCC; 1½ l, easily. Inter: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 Queen's; 1l, distance. Club: 1 Trinity A, 2 Queen's, 3 UCD. Novice: 1 Queen's, 2 Trinity, 3 UCD.
Four – Senior: 1 Trinity, 2 UCC; distance. Club, coxed: 1 Trinity A, 2 NUIG, 3 Trinity B; ½ l, 2l.
Pair – Senior: 1 Trinity, 2 UCC B, 3 UCC A.
Sculling
Quadruple
Novice, coxed: 1 UCC, 2 NUIG, 3 Dublin IT; 5l, 1½ l.
Double – Inter: 1 Trinity, 2 Queen's; 2½ l
Single – Inter: 1 UCC (S Horgan), 2 UCD (O Finnegan), 3 DCU (S Dineen); 5l, 2l.

Published in Rowing
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#ROWING: Commercial Regatta got back on track after a six-year break with a relatively small event in excellent weather at Islandbridge today. The host club provided the bulk of the entry, but Trinity supplied the two eights which competed in the women’s senior eights final, where the B crew beat the A crew. The men’s senior single sculls final saw Michael Maher beat his Commercial clubmate Colm Dowling.

Commercial Regatta, Islandbridge, Sunday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Intermediate: Commercial A bt Commercial B. Club One: Commercial A bt Commercial B.

Four – Intermediate, coxed: Trinity bt UCD

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One: Commercial bt Trinity. Junior 16, coxed: Three Castles bt Commercial A. Junior 15, coxed: Commercial A bt Commercial C.

Double – Senior: Commercial A bt Commercial B. Junior 15: Commercial bt Three Castles

Single – Senior: Commercial (M Maher) bt Commercial (C Dowling). Intermediate: Commercial (N Gahan) bt Commercial (F O’Toole). Junior 16: Three Castles (O Clune) bt Three Castles (D Gilheany). Junior 15 – Final One: Commercial (A Holton) bt New Ross (J Becker). Final Two: Commercial (K Browne) bt New Ross (L Sutton).

Women

Eight – Senior: Trinity B bt Trinity A. Club One: Trinity bt Neptune. Novice: Commercial bt Trinity A. Junior 16: Commercial bt Athlone.

Four – Intermediate, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity B.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One, coxed: Neptune bt Commercial A. Novice, coxed: Carlow bt Commercial. Junior 16, coxed: Commercial bt Athlone B. Junior 15, coxed: New Ross bt Commercial.

Double – Junior 18: Neptune A bt Athlone. Junior 16: Commercial bt New Ross B.

Single – Intermediate: Trinity (H O’Neill) bt Three Castles (A Feely). Club One: Commercial (C Edwards) bt Commercial (S O’Neill). Junior 15 - Final One: Commercial (A Keogh) bt New Ross (C Flanagan). Final Two: Three Castles bt Commercial (Dolan). Final Three: New Ross (A Coughlan) bt New Ross (L Brown).

 

Race No.TimeGroupEventRoundNorth StationSouth StationNext Race
19:30WC1WC1 4X+QF1Commercial ACommercial B16
29:35MJ16XMJ16 1XQF1Commercial, Lynch, MCommercial, Meehan, E39
39:40MJ16XMJ16 1XQF23 Castles, Clune, O3 Castles, Quinn, R39
49:45MJ16XMJ16 1XQF33 Castles, Irwin, A3 Castles, McKnight, T40
59:50WJ16XWJ16 4X+SF1Athlone BNewRoss41
69:55WJ16XWJ16 4X+SF2Athlone ACommercial41
710:00WIW Int 4+SF1CommercialDULBC A43
810:05WIW Int 4+SF2CarlowDULBC B43
910:10MXM Int 1XQF1Commercial, Gahan, NUCDBC, Toland, S33
1010:15MXM Int 1XQF2UCDBC, Griffin, ACommercial, Groome, F33
1110:20MXM Int 1XQF3Commercial, O'Toole, FCommercial, Joyce, D34
1210:25MXM Int 1XQF4Commercial, Healy, JCommercial, Baskerville, R34
1310:30MC1 MC1 8+SF1Commercial AUCDBC69
1410:35WC1XWC1 1XSF1Commercial, Edwards, CNewRoss, Janet, W47
1510:40WC1XWC1 1XSF2Commercial, O'Neill, SNewRoss, Doyle, J47
1610:45WC1WC1 4X+SF1Commercial AAthlone49
1710:50WC1WC1 4X+SF2CarlowNeptune49
1810:55MJ16XMJ16 4X+SF1Commercial ANewRoss50
1911:00MJ16XMJ16 4X+SF2Commercial B3 Castles50
2011:05WJ15 WJ15 4X+SF1NewRossCarlow65a
2111:10WJ15 WJ15 4X+SF2CommercialAthlone65a
2211:15WJ16XWJ16 2XSF1NewRoss ACommercial51
2311:20MSXMS2XSF1Commercial BUCDBC67
2411:25MSXMS2XSF2Commercial ACommercial C67
2511:30WNWN 8+SF1DULBC ADULBC B64
2611:35MJ15XMJ15 4X+SF1Commercial CNewRoss67a
2711:40MJ15XMJ15 4X+SF2Commercial BCommercial A67a
2811:45WSWS4+FDULBCCommercial 
2911:50MC1 MC1 4+FUCDBCCommercial 
3011:55MS MS 2-FNeptuneBelfast RC 
3112:00WJ18 XWJ18 2XSF1Neptune ANeptune B52
3212:05WJ18 XWJ18 2XSF2AthloneCommercial52
3312:10MXM Int 1XSF1Commercial, Gahan, NCommercial, Groome, F59
3412:15MXM Int 1XSF2Commercial, O'Toole, FWinner 1259
3512:20WJ14WJ14 4X+F1AthloneNewRoss1,000m
3612:25WJ14WJ14 4X+F2CommercialCarlow1,000m
3712:30MJ14MJ14 1XFCommercial, Hanley, RCommercial, Keane, R1,000m
3812:35WC1WC1 8+SF1CommercialDULBC65
3912:40MJ16XMJ16 1XSF1Commercial, Meehan, E3 Castles, Clune, O66
4012:45MJ16XMJ16 1XSF23 Castles, McKnight, T3 Castles, Gilheany, D66
4112:50WJ16XWJ16 4X+FAthlone BCommercial 
4212:55W Int 1XW Int 1XFDULBC, O'Neill, H3 Castles, Feeley, A 
4313:00WIW Int 4+FCommercialDULBC B 
4413:05MC1 MC1 4X+FDUBCCommercial 
4513:10MJ15XMJ15 2XFCommercial3 Castles 
4613:15WNWN 4X+FCarlowCommercial 
4713:20WC1XWC1 1XFCommercial, Edwards, CCommercial, O'Neill, S 
4913:30WC1WC1 4X+FCommercial ANeptune 
5013:35MJ16XMJ16 4X+FCommercial A3 Castles 
5113:40WJ16XWJ16 2XFCommercialNewRoss B 
5213:45WJ18 XWJ18 2XFNeptune AAthlone 
5313:50WJ15 WJ15 1XF1Commercial, Keogh, ANewRoss, Flanagain, C 
5413:55WJ15 WJ15 1XF23 Castles, Darker, SCommercial, Dolan, K 
5514:00WJ15 WJ15 1XF3NewRoss, Brown, LNewRoss, Coughlan, A 
5614:05M IntM Int 4+FUCDBCDUBC 
5714:10MJ168MJ16 8+FCommercial ACommercial B 
5814:15WS8WS 8+FDULBC ADULBC B 
5914:20MXM Int 1XFCommercial, Gahan, NCommercial, O'Toole, F 
6014:25MJ15XMJ15 1XF1Commercial, Holton, ANewRoss, Becker, J 
6114:30MJ15XMJ15 1XF2Commercial, Browne, KNewRoss, Sutton, L 
6214:35WJ14WJ14 2XF1NewRoss ACarlow1,000m
6314:40WJ14WJ14 2XF2NewRoss BAthlone1,000m
6414:45WNWN 8+FDULBC ACommercial 
6514:50WC1WC1 8+FDULBCNeptune 
65a14:55 WJ15 4X+FNewRossCommercial 
6615:00MJ16XMJ16 1XF3 Castles, Clune, O3 Castles, Gilheany, D 
6715:05MSXMS2XFCommercial BCommercial A 
67a15:10 MJ15 4X+FCommercial CCommercial A 
6815:15WJ168WJ16 8+fCommercialAthlone 
6915:20MC1 MC1 8+FCommercial ACommercial B 
7015:25MSXMS 1XFCommercial, Maher, MCommercial, Dowling, C
Published in Rowing
Page 6 of 9

Ireland's Offshore Renewable Energy

Because of Ireland's location at the Atlantic edge of the EU, it has more offshore energy potential than most other countries in Europe. The conditions are suitable for the development of the full range of current offshore renewable energy technologies.

Offshore Renewable Energy FAQs

Offshore renewable energy draws on the natural energy provided by wind, wave and tide to convert it into electricity for industry and domestic consumption.

Offshore wind is the most advanced technology, using fixed wind turbines in coastal areas, while floating wind is a developing technology more suited to deeper water. In 2018, offshore wind provided a tiny fraction of global electricity supply, but it is set to expand strongly in the coming decades into a USD 1 trillion business, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says that turbines are growing in size and in power capacity, which in turn is "delivering major performance and cost improvements for offshore wind farms".

The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, according to the IEA, due to rapid technology improvements, It calculated that about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world. Europe in particular has fostered the technology's development, led by Britain, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018.

A report for the Irish Wind Energy Assocation (IWEA) by the Carbon Trust – a British government-backed limited company established to accelerate Britain's move to a low carbon economy - says there are currently 14 fixed-bottom wind energy projects, four floating wind projects and one project that has yet to choose a technology at some stage of development in Irish waters. Some of these projects are aiming to build before 2030 to contribute to the 5GW target set by the Irish government, and others are expected to build after 2030. These projects have to secure planning permission, obtain a grid connection and also be successful in a competitive auction in the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).

The electricity generated by each turbine is collected by an offshore electricity substation located within the wind farm. Seabed cables connect the offshore substation to an onshore substation on the coast. These cables transport the electricity to land from where it will be used to power homes, farms and businesses around Ireland. The offshore developer works with EirGrid, which operates the national grid, to identify how best to do this and where exactly on the grid the project should connect.

The new Marine Planning and Development Management Bill will create a new streamlined system for planning permission for activity or infrastructure in Irish waters or on the seabed, including offshore wind farms. It is due to be published before the end of 2020 and enacted in 2021.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE. Is there scope for community involvement in offshore wind? The IWEA says that from the early stages of a project, the wind farm developer "should be engaging with the local community to inform them about the project, answer their questions and listen to their concerns". It says this provides the community with "the opportunity to work with the developer to help shape the final layout and design of the project". Listening to fishing industry concerns, and how fishermen may be affected by survey works, construction and eventual operation of a project is "of particular concern to developers", the IWEA says. It says there will also be a community benefit fund put in place for each project. It says the final details of this will be addressed in the design of the RESS (see below) for offshore wind but it has the potential to be "tens of millions of euro over the 15 years of the RESS contract". The Government is also considering the possibility that communities will be enabled to invest in offshore wind farms though there is "no clarity yet on how this would work", the IWEA says.

Based on current plans, it would amount to around 12 GW of offshore wind energy. However, the IWEA points out that is unlikely that all of the projects planned will be completed. The industry says there is even more significant potential for floating offshore wind off Ireland's west coast and the Programme for Government contains a commitment to develop a long-term plan for at least 30 GW of floating offshore wind in our deeper waters.

There are many different models of turbines. The larger a turbine, the more efficient it is in producing electricity at a good price. In choosing a turbine model the developer will be conscious of this ,but also has to be aware the impact of the turbine on the environment, marine life, biodiversity and visual impact. As a broad rule an offshore wind turbine will have a tip-height of between 165m and 215m tall. However, turbine technology is evolving at a rapid rate with larger more efficient turbines anticipated on the market in the coming years.

 

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme is designed to support the development of renewable energy projects in Ireland. Under the scheme wind farms and solar farms compete against each other in an auction with the projects which offer power at the lowest price awarded contracts. These contracts provide them with a guaranteed price for their power for 15 years. If they obtain a better price for their electricity on the wholesale market they must return the difference to the consumer.

Yes. The first auction for offshore renewable energy projects is expected to take place in late 2021.

Cost is one difference, and technology is another. Floating wind farm technology is relatively new, but allows use of deeper water. Ireland's 50-metre contour line is the limit for traditional bottom-fixed wind farms, and it is also very close to population centres, which makes visibility of large turbines an issue - hence the attraction of floating structures Do offshore wind farms pose a navigational hazard to shipping? Inshore fishermen do have valid concerns. One of the first steps in identifying a site as a potential location for an offshore wind farm is to identify and assess the level of existing marine activity in the area and this particularly includes shipping. The National Marine Planning Framework aims to create, for the first time, a plan to balance the various kinds of offshore activity with the protection of the Irish marine environment. This is expected to be published before the end of 2020, and will set out clearly where is suitable for offshore renewable energy development and where it is not - due, for example, to shipping movements and safe navigation.

YEnvironmental organisations are concerned about the impact of turbines on bird populations, particularly migrating birds. A Danish scientific study published in 2019 found evidence that larger birds were tending to avoid turbine blades, but said it didn't have sufficient evidence for smaller birds – and cautioned that the cumulative effect of farms could still have an impact on bird movements. A full environmental impact assessment has to be carried out before a developer can apply for planning permission to develop an offshore wind farm. This would include desk-based studies as well as extensive surveys of the population and movements of birds and marine mammals, as well as fish and seabed habitats. If a potential environmental impact is identified the developer must, as part of the planning application, show how the project will be designed in such a way as to avoid the impact or to mitigate against it.

A typical 500 MW offshore wind farm would require an operations and maintenance base which would be on the nearby coast. Such a project would generally create between 80-100 fulltime jobs, according to the IWEA. There would also be a substantial increase to in-direct employment and associated socio-economic benefit to the surrounding area where the operation and maintenance hub is located.

The recent Carbon Trust report for the IWEA, entitled Harnessing our potential, identified significant skills shortages for offshore wind in Ireland across the areas of engineering financial services and logistics. The IWEA says that as Ireland is a relatively new entrant to the offshore wind market, there are "opportunities to develop and implement strategies to address the skills shortages for delivering offshore wind and for Ireland to be a net exporter of human capital and skills to the highly competitive global offshore wind supply chain". Offshore wind requires a diverse workforce with jobs in both transferable (for example from the oil and gas sector) and specialist disciplines across apprenticeships and higher education. IWEA have a training network called the Green Tech Skillnet that facilitates training and networking opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

It is expected that developing the 3.5 GW of offshore wind energy identified in the Government's Climate Action Plan would create around 2,500 jobs in construction and development and around 700 permanent operations and maintenance jobs. The Programme for Government published in 2020 has an enhanced target of 5 GW of offshore wind which would create even more employment. The industry says that in the initial stages, the development of offshore wind energy would create employment in conducting environmental surveys, community engagement and development applications for planning. As a site moves to construction, people with backgrounds in various types of engineering, marine construction and marine transport would be recruited. Once the site is up and running , a project requires a team of turbine technicians, engineers and administrators to ensure the wind farm is fully and properly maintained, as well as crew for the crew transfer vessels transporting workers from shore to the turbines.

The IEA says that today's offshore wind market "doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential – with high-quality resources available in most major markets". It estimates that offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420 000 Terawatt hours per year (TWh/yr) worldwide – as in more than 18 times the current global electricity demand. One Terawatt is 114 megawatts, and to put it in context, Scotland it has a population a little over 5 million and requires 25 TWh/yr of electrical energy.

Not as advanced as wind, with anchoring a big challenge – given that the most effective wave energy has to be in the most energetic locations, such as the Irish west coast. Britain, Ireland and Portugal are regarded as most advanced in developing wave energy technology. The prize is significant, the industry says, as there are forecasts that varying between 4000TWh/yr to 29500TWh/yr. Europe consumes around 3000TWh/year.

The industry has two main umbrella organisations – the Irish Wind Energy Association, which represents both onshore and offshore wind, and the Marine Renewables Industry Association, which focuses on all types of renewable in the marine environment.

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