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Displaying items by tag: Under23

# Rowing: Ireland’s campaign at the World Championships in Rotterdam, which feature senior, under-23 and junior events, started well this morning. The Ireland Under-23 lightweight pair of David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney secured a semi-final place. Greece and Turkey swapped places ahead of them, but the Ireland crew nailed down third and direct qualification. Germany struggled and could only take fourth and a repechage place. Turkey passed Greece before the line.

World Rowing Championships, Rotterdam (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Under-23 Lightweight Pair - Heat Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechages): 1 Turkey 6:39.80, 2 Greece 6:40.70, 3 Ireland (S Mulvaney, D O’Malley) 6:45.09.  

Published in Rowing

#Canoeing: Liam Jegou topped the rankings in his first run and qualified directly for the semi-finals at the canoe slalom under-23 World Championships in Krakow in Poland. The Ireland C1 competitor had a fault-free round in 83.55 seconds. Ireland’s two other contenders in this class fell outside the qualificaton mark: Robert Hendrick missed gate 10 and incurred a 50-second penalty in an otherwise steady run. Jake Cochrane touched gates 12 and 14 and then missed gates 17 and 18, to finish 60th. Hendrick finished 15th in his second run and Cochrane 27th. 

Canoe Slalom World Championships, Under-23 and Junior, Krakow, Poland (Irish interest; selected results):

Men

Under-23 C1 – First Run (20 qualify directly for semi-finals): 1 Ireland (L Jegou) 83.55 seconds; 54 R Hendrick 141.89; 60 J Cochrane 200.64. Second Run (10 qualify): 15 Hendrick 94.87; 27 Cochrane 100.74.

Junior C1 – First Run (20 qualify): 41 Ireland (E Moorhouse) 120.92; 49 F McNally 164.94. Second Run: 20 McNally 113.71; 34 Moorhouse 162.06.

 

Published in Canoeing

#ROWING: Denise Walsh of Ireland finished fourth in her heat of the lightweight single sculls at the World Under-23 Championships in Varese, Italy, this morning. The two direct qualification places were taken by Anna Ioannou of Cyprus and Julie Marechal of France, whose battle at the head of the race drew them away from the rest of the contenders. Britain’s Emily Craig was third, while Walsh and Anastasia Lebedeva of Russia fought it out at the back of the field to avoid last. The Skibbereen woman prevailed.

World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Varese, Italy, Day Two (Irish interest; selected results)

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; Rest to Repechage): 1 Cyprus 8:04.62, 2 France 8:06.67; 3 Britain 8:13.89, 4 Ireland (D Walsh) 8:22.48, 5 Russia 8:26.00.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Paul O’Donovan won his heat of the lightweight single sculls at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships at Varese in Italy today. Britain’s Sam Mottram held the lead in the middle stages of the race, but O’Donovan passed him and won, with Brazil and Japan taking the other qualifying places for the quarter-finals.

The Ireland four of Richie Bennett, Kevin Neville, Fionán McQuillan-Tolan and Rob O’Callaghan finished fifth in their heat and will compete in a repechage tomorrow. The Irish could not find a way into contention for the top-three spot they needed. Italy won from Croatia and the United States. Belarus took fourth.

World Under-23 Championships, Varese, Italy. Day One (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Four – Heat One (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals): 1 Italy 6:00.06, 2 Croatia 6:02.31, 3 United States 6:05.38; 4 Belarus 6:07.95, 5 Ireland (R Bennett, K Neville, F McQuillan-Tolan, R O’Callaghan) 6:22.36.

Lightweight Single Sculls (First Four to Quarter-Finals): 1 Ireland (P O’Donovan) 7:08.58, 2 Britain 7:11.14, 3 Brazil 7:19.02, Japan 7:20.05; 5 Portugal 7:22.59.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Rowing Ireland has announced the crews which will compete at the Under-23 World Rowing Championships in Varese, Italy, from 23rd to 27th July.

Denise Walsh will compete in the lightweight single scull. Walsh, who is 22 years old, competed in the same event last year, finishing sixth. She has been competing more recently in a newly formed lightweight double scull with Claire Lambe. They finished in 5th position in the B final in their first outing two weeks ago at World Cup II in Aiguebelette. Denise Walsh rows for Skibbereen Rowing club and is in her final year of studying Economics and Geography at UCC.

Paul O’Donovan finished in third place in U23 lightweight men’s scull in Linz, Austria in 2013. He comes from a strong family of rowers, with his father, Teddy, involved in Skibbereen rowing Club. Paul rowed himself since the age of seven. In the recent World Cup II regatta in Aiguebelette Paul won the B final.

Paul’s brother Gary will compete in the men’s lightweight double, together with fellow Skibbereen man Shane O’Driscoll. Gary is passionate about the sport. “My father always had an interest in rowing and he would bring myself and Paul to a lot of rowing events before we started rowing, which we enjoyed a lot,” Gary recalled. “When I was 10 years old, he brought me and Paul rowing for the first time. Since then we have never stopped.”

Shane O’Driscoll, who was in Gary’s class in school, started rowing shortly afterwards and they have rowed together since.

The men’s four from Galway will be hoping for a good result. Many of the crew have rowed since they were at junior level. Richie Bennett and Rob O’Callaghan competed in the four at last year’s Under-23 World Championships, where they finished ninth. Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan recently lined out in the Boston College eight at the Eastern Sprint regatta. Tolan started rowing at St Joseph’s College and won three junior Championships with them.

Ireland Under-23 World Championship Team:

Men

Four: Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan (Grainne Mhaol RC), Richard Bennett (NUIG BC), Robert O'Callaghan (NUIG BC), Kevin Neville (NUIG BC). Lightweight Double Scull: Gary O’Donovan (CIT RC), Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen RC). Lightweight Single Scull: Paul O’Donovan (UCD).

Women

Lightweight Single Scull: Denise Walsh (Skibbereen RC).

Published in Rowing

Ireland were pipped on the line by Britain in the B Final of the lightweight quadruple sculls at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Amsterdam. Ireland took the lead within metres of the finish only for Britain to come through and win by seven hundredths of a second. Ireland’s crew of Shane O’Driscoll, Niall Kenny, Peter Hanily and Justin Ryan thus finish eighth overall.

Jonathan Mitchell won a battle for fourth with Switzerland’s Jerome Voelke in the C Final of the lightweight single scull, placing him 16th overall. At the head of the field, Cristian Gainza Lein of Chile held off the late challenge of Kamal Mammadov of Azerbaijan, with Oskar Russberg of Sweden third.

World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Amsterdam - Day Four (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Quadruple Scull – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Britain 5:55.87, 2 Ireland (S O’Driscoll, N Kenny, P Hanily, J Ryan) 5:55.94, 3 Spain 5:59.67, 4 Netherlands 6:01.04, 5 Austria 6:02.97, 6 Turkey 6:20.13.

Lightweight Single Scull – C Final (Places 13-18): 1 Chile 7:14.52, 2 Azerbaijan 7:15.39, 3 Sweden 7:15.65, 4 Ireland (J Mitchell) 7:22.21, 5 Switzerland 7:25.61, 6 Italy 7:53.08

Women

Lightweight Double Scull – Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Greece 7:03.80, 2 Spain 7:05.59, 3 Netherlands 7:06.49; 4 Romania 7:12.98, 5 Austria 7:14.20, 6 Ireland (S Dolan, C Lambe) 7:14.86.

Single Scull – Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final); 1 Serbia (I Filipovic) 7:36.42, 2 Estonia (K Pajusalu) 7:36.89, 3 Azerbaijan (I Angelova) 7:36.94; 4 Ukraine 7:38.55, 5 Ireland (L Dilleen) 7:43.02, 6 Denmark 8:14.00.

Published in Rowing

Jonathan Mitchell qualified for the quarter-finals of the lightweight single scull at the World Under-23 Championships in Amsterdam. The Queen’s University man finished third in his heat, behind Germany and Sweden.

World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Amsterdam, Day Two (Irish interest):

Men

Lightweight Single Scull – Heat Six (First Three to Quarter-Finals): 1 Germany (R Acht) 7:47.10, 2 Sweden (O Russberg) 7:53.46, 3 Ireland (J Mitchell) 7:59.95; 4 Chile 8:03.41

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

The World Under-23 Rowing Championships, which begins on Wednesday in Amsterdam, have drawn a record number of 63 competing nations. Last year Ireland took a silver medal in the lightweight quadruple scull and we will be again represented in this class with Shane O’Driscoll and Peter Hanily coming into the crew for  Mark O’Donovan and Michael Maher, who have moved out of this age group. Lisa Dilleen (20), who finished ninth in the single scull last year, gets another chance in this class. The lightweight double of Sarah Dolan and Claire Lambe and lightweight single sculler Jonathan Mitchell will also represent Ireland.

Ireland Team for World Under-23 Rowing Championships, Amsterdam, July 20th-24th

Men – Lightweight Quadruple: S O’Driscoll, N Kenny, P Hanily, J Ryan. Lightweight Single Scull: J Mitchell.

Women – Lightweight Double Scull: S Dolan, C Lambe. Single Scull: L Dilleen.

Published in Rowing
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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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