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#Rowing: Trinity won the women’s senior eight at Trinity Regatta. The host crew were commanding winners over a Commercial eight made up of UCD alumni. In the semi-final they had beaten a Commercial eight made up of Trinity alumni.

 Blue Star, the alumni club of Newcastle University, won the men’s intermediate eight. UCD were unable to finish after a race which featured a number of clashes and a restart. Blue Star featured British Olympians George Nash and Scott Durant (both gold medallists in 2016)  as well as Irish Olympian Cormac Folan.  

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge, Saturday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: Trinity bt Commercial 1 1/3 l. Club: Commercial bt Neptune A 1 ¾ l. Novice: UCD A; Trinity disuqual.

Four – Sen, coxed: Commercial B.

Sculling,

Quadruple – Jun 18: Neptune bt Three Castles 4l. Jun 18B, coxed: Blackrock. Jun 16: Graiguenamanagh. Masters, coxed: Commercial.

Single – Sen: Commercial (N Beggan) bt Carlow (L Keating) 1l.  Inter: Sligo (G Patterson). Club One: Bann A (Christie).  Junior: Carlow (J Keating) bt Neptune (J Butler) easily. Jun 16: Neptune (T Orlic). Masters: Thames (C George).

Women

Eight – Senior: Trinity bt Commercial, 2l. Inter: Trinity B bt Trinity A ¼ l. Club One: Commercial bt Neptune 2l. Nov: UCD A. Jun 18: Bann bt Graiguenamanagh, easily. Jun 16B: Graiguenamanagh. Masters: Tribesmen A.

Four – Inter: Trinity A. Masters, coxed: Belfast BC/Tribesmen.

Sculling,

Quadruple, Club One, coxed: Neptune. Nov, coxed: Trinity r/0. Jun 18B, coxed: Graiguenamanagh bt Neptune 1 ½ l.

Double – Senior: Neptune bt Njord easily.

Single – Inter: Neptune (Feerick). Club One: Neptune (Clarke). Club Two: Neptune (Clarke). Jun 18A: Neptune (Clarke). Jun 16: City Of Derry (E Murphy).

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity won the men’s senior eights at the University Championships of Ireland at the National Rowing Centre in Cork today. The race had a thrilling finish: Trinity led by less than a length, but UCD finished strongly and almost caught them. NUIG won the women’s senior eight much more comfortably, from Trinity.

 The overall winners were NUIG, who also won the Bank of Ireland Trophy for women. The men’s award, the Wylie Cup, went to Trinity.

 Fintan McCarthy of UCC won the senior single sculls from Andrew Goff of UCD and Selma Bounane of UCC topped the rankings in the women’s senior single.

University Championships of Ireland, National Rowing Centre (Selected Results)

Men

Eights – Senior: 1 Trinity, 2 UCD, 3 UCC. Inter: 1 Trinity, 2 UCD, 3 UCC. Club: 1 Trinity, 2 NUIG, 3 UCC. Novice: 1 UCD A, 2 Trinity A, 3 Queen’s A.

Four – Sen: UCD. Inter, coxed: Trinity. Club, coxed: UCC.

Pair – Sen: UCD.

Sculling, Quadruple, coxed – Novice: University of Limerick. Double – Inter: Queen’s. Single - Sen: UCC (F McCarthy). Inter: Univ of Limerick (K Mannix)

Women

Eights – Senior: 1 NUIG, 2 Trinity A, 3 Trinity B. Inter: 1 NUIG, 2 Trinity A, 3 Queen’s. Club: 1 NUIG, 2 Queen’s, 3 UCD A. Novice: 1 UCD, 2 Queen’s A, 3 Queen’s B.

Four – Sen: NUIG. Inter, coxed: NUIG A. Club, coxed: NUIG A.

Pair – Sen: UCC.  

Sculling, Quadruple – Nov: Queen’s B. Double – Inter: NUIG. Single – Sen: UCC (Bounane). Inter: UCC (L Heaphy).

Overall Winners: NUIG. Wylie Cup for Men: Trinity. Bank of Ireland Trophy for Women: NUIG.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity looked strong as they beat UCD in the men’s senior eights final at Neptune Regatta this evening. The final verdict was under a length, but as the crews passed the Neptune boathouse the men in white looked in control.

Neptune took two wins by tiny margins. They won the club one coxed fours by two feet and the club two coxed quadruple by just one foot.

There was a spectacular incident at the end of the women’s masters’ eight final. Tribesmen beat the hosts, but crashed against the bank just after the finish.

The regatta was hit by a hail and rain shower just after 5.20 and the programme ran late.

Neptune Regatta, Islandbridge, Saturday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: Trinity bt UCD ¾ l, 3:13. Club One: UCD B bt Neptune ¾ l, 3:20. Novice: UCD B bt Trinity 3l, 3:30. Junior 18: Neptune bt Col Iognaid 2l, 3:27. Jun 16: Col Iognaid bt Blackrock 3l, 3:49. Jun 15: Bann bt St Joseph’s 1 ½ l. Masters: Old Collegians bt Neptune 1l.

Four – Senior, coxed: Trinity B bt UCD 2l, 3:35. Club One, coxed: Neptune bt UCD 2ft, 3:43. Jun 18, coxed: Col Iognaid bt Commercial 2/3 l, 4:14. Masters, coxed: Athlone bt Neptune ¾ l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Neptune bt Bann 1ft, 3:57. Jun 18: Col Iognaid bt Three Castles 2l, 4:06. Jun 16, coxed: Fermoy bt Bann 3:50. Jun 15, coxed: Blackrock A bt Galway easily, 4:16.

Double – Jun 16: Col na Coiribe bt Commercial A 3l, 4:01.

Single – Senior: Commercial (N Beggan) bt Portadown (A Laivins) easily, 3:58. Inter: Offaly (C Brady) bt Garda (P Ryan) 2 ½ l, 4:40. Club One: Commercial (D Crowley) bt Portadown (A Laivins) 2/3 l 4:10. Club Two: Clonmel (S O’Donnell) bt Garda (P Ryan) 4l, 4:25. Jun 18: New Ross (L Sutton) bt Commercial (C Kelly) easily, 4:00. Jun 16: Neptune (T Orlic) r/0.  

Women

Eight – Club One: Commercial bt UCD B 2l, 3:50. Jun 18: Graiguenamanagh bt Col Iognaid, canvas 3:53. Novice: UCD A bt UCD B 4l, 4:00. Jun 16: Commercial bt Fermoy 2 ½ l, 4:07. Jun 15: Galway bt Enniskillen 4l. Masters: Tribesmen bt Neptune 3l.

Four – Club One, coxed: UCD B bt UCD A 2 ½ l, 4:48.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two, coxed: Graiguenamanagh A bt King’s Hospital 2l, 4:27. Jun 18: Col Iognaid bt Neptune 3l, 4:56. Jun 16, coxed: Commercial bt Carlow 2 ½, 4:12. Jun 15, coxed: Carlow bt Athlone 2 ½ l. Double – Jun 16: Fermoy A bt Commercial B, easily, 4:34.

Single – Club One: Athlone (Y Curley) r/0. Club Two: Clonmel (S McGrath) bt Clonmel (E Fitzpatrick) 4l. Jun 18: Commercial (K Dolan) bt Neptune (N Clarke) 1ft, 4:30. Jun 16: Carlow (S Scully) r/o.

 

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#Rowing: The first set of finals at Neptune Regatta was a good one for UCD. Their B crew beat Neptune – by three-quarters of a length – in the competitive club one eights and their B crew beat Trinity in the novice eights. However, Trinity won the battle of the senior coxed fours – their B crew beat UCD. The host club provided be the top junior 18 eight, beating Coláiste Iognáid in the final.

 The women’s junior 18 eight gave Graiguenamanagh a win over Coláiste Iognáid by a canvas, while the club one eights went to Commercial, who beat UCD B. In the closest race of the session, Katie Dolan of Commercial beat Niamh Clarke of Neptune by just one foot in the women’s junior 18 single sculls. Luke Sutton of New Ross won the men’s junior 18 single.

Neptune Regatta, Islandbridge, Saturday (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Club One: UCD B bt Neptune ¾ l, 3:20. Novice: UCD B bt Trinity 3l, 3:30. Junior 18: Neptune bt Col Iognaid 2l, 3:27. Jun 15: Bann bt St Joseph’s 1 ½ l.

Four – Senior, coxed: Trinity B bt UCD 2l, 3:35. Masters, coxed: Athlone bt Neptune ¾ l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: Fermoy bt Bann 3:50.

Double – Jun 16: Col na Coiribe bt Commercial A 3l, 4:01.

Single – Club Two: Clonmel (S O’Donnell) bt Garda (P Ryan) 4l, 4:25. Jun 18: New Ross (L Sutton) bt Commercial (C Kelly) easily, 4:00.  

Women

Eight – Club One: Commercial bt UCD B 2l, 3:50. Jun 18: Graiguenamanagh bt Col Iognaid, canvas 3:53. Novice: UCD A bt UCD B 4l, 4:00. Jun 15: Galway bt Enniskillen 4l.  

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: Commercial bt Carlow 2 ½, 4:12. Double – Jun 16: Fermoy A bt Commercial B, easily, 4:34.

Single – Club Two: Clonmel (S McGrath) bt Clonmel (E Fitzpatrick) 4l. Jun 18: Commercial (K Dolan) bt Neptune (N Clarke) 1ft, 4:30.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing; Trinity won the Gannon Cup with a fine performance today. The Colours races were run on a reverse of the Trinity Regatta course above the weir for safety reasons. There was a strong east wind and a powerful flow.

 UCD took a one-length lead in the Gannon Cup at the first bend, but Trinity came back to lead and held on. Trinity’s senior women won the Corcoran Cup with a commading performance.

 The novice women’s title (the Sally Moorhead Trophy) was won easily by UCD. The closest race of the day was the novice men’s race, which was a thrilling contest. Trinity led past the boat clubs, but UCD overtook them and led by a length. Trinity came back to retake the lead … only for UCD to overhaul them right at the finish line.   

Colours Races 2018, Islandbridge (raced above the weir because of bad weather)

Senior Men (Gannon Cup): Trinity (B Cronin, D Butler, W Doyle, G Moore, A Liadov, D Pierse, T Hughes, M Quigley; cox: R Hamilton) bt UCD, ¾ l.

Novice Men (Dan Quinn Shield): UCD bt Trinity 2ft.

Senior Women (Corcoran Cup): Trinity  (D Maguire, S Kelly, A Byrne, J Hogg, A Corcoran, C Dempsey, L McHugh, S Higgins; cox: M Jungmann) bt UCD easily.

Novice Women (Sally Moorhead Cup): UCD bt Trinity easily

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCD won both coin tosses and will row from the North Station in all four Colours races on the Liffey on March 18th. Pat Kenny performed the coin toss at Trinity College, assisted by the four captains: Emma Thornton (UCD Ladies Boat Club); Laura Walsh (Dublin University Boat Club), Shane Mulvaney (UCD Boat Club) and Conor Ryan (Dublin University Boat Club).

 The toss was set for early in the week but was delayed until Thursday.

 The schedule set for Sunday, March 18th, is:

 10:30 Sally Moorhead Trophy (novice women)

 11:00 Dan Quinn Shield (novice men)

 11:30 Corcoran Cup (senior women)

 12:00 Gannon Cup (senior men)

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCD’s men’s intermediate eight just came out on top as the fastest crew at the St Michael’s Head of the River in Limerick. They clocked 19 minutes and 39 seconds, just ahead of the 19 minutes 43.4 seconds of the NUIG senior eight. Carlow Rowing Club’s women’s junior coxed four just pipped NUIG’s women’s senior eight as the fastest women’s crew.  

 

RankBib nrNameResultPenaltySpeed
Womens J18A 2X
148St. Michael's Rowing Club00:33:30.0 9.31 km/h
Womens Novice 4X+
120St. Michael's Rowing Club00:35:08.7 8.88 km/h
Mens Senior 8+, (A)
11NUIG Boat Club00:19:43.4 15.82 km/h
Mens Intermediate 8+,
13UCD Boat Club00:19:39.0 15.88 km/h
Mens Club 1 8+,
14UL Boat Club00:23:31.2 13.27 km/h
Mens J18A 4X-,
16Athlunkard Boat Club00:27:00.5 11.55 km/h
2107Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:27:09.2 11.49 km/h
Mens Intermediate 4-,
18St. Michael's Rowing Club00:22:37.2 13.79 km/h
29Uni of Limerick Rowing Club00:22:55.1 13.61 km/h
Mens Masters 8+, (A)
110Castleconnell BC00:35:04.3 8.90 km/h
Mens Masters 8+,
111St. Michael's Rowing Club00:23:43.0 13.16 km/h
212Athlone Boat Club00:24:07.7 12.93 km/h
Mens Masters 8+, (B)
113Castleconnell BC00:20:45.9 15.03 km/h
Womens Senior 8+,
114NUIG Boat Club00:22:50.8 13.66 km/h
Mens J18A 4+,
116Carlow Rowing Club00:22:49.6 13.67 km/h
215St. Joseph's College RC00:22:50.2 13.66 km/h
317Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:23:11.1 13.46 km/h
418Athlunkard Boat Club00:25:07.9 12.41 km/h
Mens Senior 2X,
119Galway Rowing Club00:27:50.6 11.21 km/h
Mens Club 1 2X,
121Carlow Rowing Club00:25:53.3 12.05 km/h
Mens J18A 2X,
124St. Michael's Rowing Club00:23:27.5 13.30 km/h
222Castleconnell BC00:25:15.0 12.36 km/h
326St. Joseph's College RC00:25:53.1 12.05 km/h
425St. Michael's Rowing Club00:26:13.8 11.89 km/h
523Colaiste Iognaid Rowing ClubDNS -
Womens J18A 8+,
128St. Michael's Rowing Club00:24:58.7 12.49 km/h
230Galway Rowing Club00:25:43.2 12.13 km/h
329Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:26:11.1 11.92 km/h
427Shannon Rowing Club00:28:12.2 11.06 km/h
Mens J16 8+,
131Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:22:27.1 13.90 km/h
232St. Michael's Rowing Club00:25:44.5incl. +30 sec.12.36 km/h
333St. Joseph's College RCDNS -
Womens Club 1 8+,
134Uni of Limerick Rowing Club00:25:20.7 12.31 km/h
Mens Masters 4X-, (A)
135Galway Rowing Club00:24:13.6 12.88 km/h
Mens Masters 4X-, (B)
136Galway Rowing Club00:26:00.5incl. +90 sec.12.73 km/h
Mens Masters 4X-
137St. Michael's Rowing ClubDNS -
Mens J16 4X+, (A)
138Castleconnell BC00:26:06.0 11.95 km/h
Mens J16 4X+, (B)
139Castleconnell BC00:25:28.9 12.24 km/h
Mens J16 4X+,
142St. Michael's Rowing Club00:27:51.1 11.20 km/h
243St. Joseph's College RC00:27:52.1 11.20 km/h
341Shannon Rowing Club00:29:57.1 10.42 km/h
440Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:33:46.0 9.24 km/h
Mens Masters 4X+,
145St. Michael's Rowing Club00:27:46.1 11.24 km/h
2144Athlone Boat ClubDNS -
Womens J18A 4X-,
147Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:25:46.4 12.11 km/h
25Clonmel Rowing Club00:26:20.9 11.84 km/h
346Castleconnell BC00:26:23.0 11.83 km/h
Womens Club 1 4X-,
149St. Michael's Rowing ClubDNS -
Mens Masters 4+,
151St. Michael's Rowing Club00:24:40.1 12.65 km/h
250Athlone Boat ClubDNS -
Mens J16 4+,
152Shannon Rowing Club00:28:25.4 10.98 km/h
Mens Masters 2X,
154St. Michael's Rowing Club00:24:14.1 12.87 km/h
253Castleconnell BC00:27:19.4 11.42 km/h
Mens Senior 1X
155St. Michael's Rowing Club00:25:40.7 12.15 km/h
Womens J16 8+,
156St. Michael's Rowing Club00:29:15.4 10.66 km/h
Womens J18A 2X,
157Castleconnell BCDNS -
2158Colaiste Iognaid Rowing ClubDNS -
Womens Intermediate 4+,
159NUIG Boat Club00:25:34.0 12.20 km/h
Womens Masters 8+,
160Uni of Limerick Rowing Club00:29:34.3 10.55 km/h
Womens J16 4X+,
162Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club00:31:43.4 9.84 km/h
263Shannon Rowing Club00:32:19.8 9.65 km/h
361Athlunkard Boat Club00:33:52.9 9.21 km/h
Womens Novice 4X+,
165Uni of Limerick Rowing Club00:31:27.0 9.92 km/h
Womens Masters 4X-
166Soc des Régates Messines00:31:05.0 10.04 km/h
Mens Touring 4X+
167LBC / SMRC00:46:21.0 6.73 km/h
Late Entry
184UnknownDNS -
282UnknownDNS -
385UnknownDNS -
483UnknownDNS -
581UnknownDNS -
Mens Senior 4+
12NUIG Boat ClubDNS -
Womens Intermediate 2X
164St Michaels Rowing Club00:27:23.9 11.39 km/h
Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Max Murphy took a silver medal at the New Zealand Rowing Championships on Lake Karapiro. The UCD man teamed up with Thomas Bedford in the Waikato crew which took second in the men’s senior pairs behind Avon Rowing Club and ahead of another Waikato crew.

New Zealand Rowing Championships, Lake Karapiro, Day Four (Irish interest)

Men

Pair - Senior - A Final: 2 Waikato (M Murphy, T Bedford) 6:59.41.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan was the pick of the Irish internationals at the testing New Zealand Rowing Championships on Lake Karapiro on Tuesday. O’Donovan finished third in his heat of the Premier (openweight) single sculls – just .11 of a second behind the winner of the other heat, Mahe Drysdale, the Olympic champion. O'Donovan will get a second chance to make the final through the repechages.

 The pair of Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll took fourth in their heat, while a four with the three O’Donovans and O’Driscoll also conserved energy for Wednesday’s repechages. The double of Paul and Gary O’Donovan took part in a race for lanes and took fifth.

 It was another good day for UCD’s Max Murphy, who is competing for Waikato. He was part of the club’s senior four which won their heat and progressed directly to the final. In the pair, Murphy placed third in a heat.

 Kevin Neville of NUIG, competing for Wairau, qualified for the senior double semi-finals. Neville and Eamon Power, also of NUIG and rowing for Wairau, are set for repechages in the senior and club singles respectively.

New Zealand Rowing Championships, Lake Karapiro, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Four – Premier (First to Final; rest to repechage)– Heat Two: 4 Skibbereen (S O’Driscoll, M O’Donovan, P O’Donovan, G O’Donovan) 7:05.67.  

Senior (First to Final; rest to repechage) - Heat Two: 1 Waikato (3 M Murphy) 6:25.58.

Pair – Premier (First to Final; rest to repechage): Heat Two: Skibbereen (S O’Driscoll, M O’Donovan) 7:24.79.

Senior (First to Final; rest to repechage) – Heat Two: 3 Waikato (M Murphy, T Bedford) 7:11.58.

Sculling,

Double – Premier (All go to Final): 5 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan, G O’Donovan) 7:20.97.

Senior – (First Four to Semi-Finals: rest to Repechages) – Heat Three: 3 Wairau (2 K Neville) 6:50.56.

Single – Premier (First to A Final; rest to repechage) – Heat One: 4 Skibbereen (G O’Donovan) 7:45. 8. Heat Two: 3 Skibbereen (P O’Donovan) 7:20.17.

Senior (First to Final; rest to repechage) – Heat One: 3 Wairau (K Neville) 7:53.53.

Club – Heat One (First two to Semi-Final; rest to repechage) – Heat One: 3 Wairau (E Power) 8:00.75.

Published in Rowing

UCD Team Ireland finished fifth overall in the Student Yachting World Cup in France today. The Dublin team was disappointed that the last day of racing had to be cancelled due to lack of wind, but are very happy with their overall result.

The event in general provided spectators with some very exciting racing. While the Scottish team pulled ahead early in the competition, in the end it was Team Japan who won the SYWOC title.

Sywoc photo 3 The Dublin team was disappointed that the last day of racing had to be cancelled due to lack of wind

With a number of top three finished throughout the week, Team Ireland certainly were in contention for a podium finish, but unfortunately it was not to be.

The young team, skippered by Jack Higgins, will be setting their sights for the Irish Student Yachting Nations in April to qualify again for next year.

Published in Youth Sailing
Page 4 of 15

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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