Almost 70,000 hours of marine and coastal survey work have been completed off Ireland's south coast as EirGrid advances plans to connect 900MW of offshore renewable energy to the national electricity grid.
EirGrid has completed its 2026 marine and coastal survey campaign for the Powering Up Offshore – South Coast programme, covering 2,337km of maritime survey work off the south coast.
The campaign involved almost 70,000 hours of work, gathering information on marine, coastal and environmental conditions to support the development of electricity infrastructure associated with the Tonn Nua offshore renewable energy area.
The surveys build on work undertaken in 2025 and will inform engineering, environmental and planning assessments for the Government's South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy (SC-DMAP).
The latest milestone follows EirGrid's completion of its initial south coast marine surveys in 2025, when investigations were undertaken to assess potential offshore cable routes. A further survey campaign began in April 2026, extending the investigations to support the next stage of infrastructure planning.
Coastal Connections – Marine survey operations off the south coast form part of EirGrid's Powering Up Offshore programme, which aims to connect 900MW of renewable electricity from the Tonn Nua maritime area
Irish Marine Companies Support Survey Programme
International survey specialist Fugro carried out the 2026 campaign under EirGrid's Offshore Marine Survey Framework, supported by several Irish companies.
TechWorks Marine supported metocean buoy operations and provided archaeological services through Mizen Archaeology, while Ground Investigations Ireland undertook land-based geotechnical investigations.
Irish marine survey company Green Rebel supplied vessels for static acoustic monitoring and nearshore environmental surveys.
Cork-based Green Rebel completed nearshore environmental surveys aboard Lady Kathleen during the earlier campaign, undertaking seabed investigations. Dún Laoghaire-based TechWorks Marine also began a metocean monitoring programme to gather information on offshore conditions.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights provided the ILV Granuaile for metocean buoy deployment and recovery operations, while the Archaeological Diving Company (ADCO) contributed specialist underwater archaeological expertise.
The survey programme also had a maritime safety connection when EirGrid supported Irish Coast Guard helicopter training off the Wexford coast in May, using the Fugro-operated survey vessel Kommandor Iona for winching exercises.
Adam Cronin, EirGrid's Head of Offshore – South Coast, said the completion of the campaign was a significant step forward.
"The surveys provide vital information that will help us better understand the marine and coastal environment and inform the development of infrastructure options needed to connect offshore renewable energy to the national electricity grid," he said.
Cronin thanked coastal communities, fisheries representatives, landowners and other marine users for their cooperation during the survey programme.
Public Consultation Continues Until 8 December
The completion of the survey campaign coincides with EirGrid's ongoing 12-week public consultation on emerging infrastructure options for the Tonn Nua maritime area.
The consultation, which closes on 8 December 2026, is seeking feedback on potential landfall locations, offshore cable corridors, offshore substations, grid connection points and onshore transmission cable routes in Cork and Wexford.
The consultation was launched in September, outlining emerging infrastructure options for the two counties as the project progresses through its planning and assessment stages.
The proposed infrastructure is expected to facilitate the connection of approximately 900MW of offshore renewable electricity, which EirGrid estimates would be sufficient to power almost one million homes.
Coastal Communities Invited To Contribute
Cronin said public engagement would remain central to the next phase of project development.
"We are encouraging people to take part in the current consultation and review the emerging options being presented," he said.
He added that feedback from communities, landowners, marine users and other stakeholders would help inform the next stage alongside the technical survey findings.
Further information on the consultation is available through EirGrid's Powering Up Offshore – South Coast programme
