Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan has described Government approval of terms and conditions for the first offshore wind auction as “another massive step forward” towards Ireland’s future as an “international green energy hub”.

ORESS 1, the first auction for offshore wind under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme, is also the first offshore auction in Ireland’s history.

It follows last year’s enactment of the Maritime Area Planning Act, and the awarding of Maritime Area Consents (MACs) to phase one offshore wind projects last month.

The first offshore wind auction is expected to provide a route to market for up to 2.5GW of offshore renewable energy to the Irish grid, which is “enough to power 2.5 million Irish homes with clean electricity”, according to Ryan’s department.

“Coming during the weeks of the international climate summit COP27, publishing details of the auction sends a strong international signal that Ireland is serious about offshore energy and our national climate targets and obligations,”it said.

All offshore wind projects developed via ORESS will be required to make community benefit fund contributions from construction phase and continuing for the duration of the support period, the department says.

This community benefit fund will last “typically for a total period of 25 years” and will “result in lasting, tangible benefits for these communities”, it says.

Ryan said the first stage of “this transformative auction” will start before Christmas, and a final ORESS 1 auction calendar will be published by EirGrid shortly.

He said the pre-qualification stage will launch next month (December), while the qualification stage and the auction procedure will take place in the first half of 2023. Final auction results will be published by June 2023.

Any project that has been awarded a MAC is eligible to partake in the ORESS 1 auction. Seven projects – known as “relevant projects’ – were deemed ready to apply for MACs in Spring 2022.

At least three offshore energy auctions are currently planned for this decade.

The “Spatial Squeeze” is a term you can expect to hear quite a lot about in the immediate future.

It’s all to do with the increasing competition for space in the offshore sector. Wind energy developers require space for wind-generating turbines, and those who already use that space find themselves pushed out.

Irish fishing organisations are expressing concern about developers choosing sites for windfarms “in the best fishing areas".

The Irish Sea could become an area of difficulty.

“Mutual respect must be given. For large wind farm developers, most of the first phase of applications for wind farms is in the rich Irish Sea fishing and spawning grounds,” according to the major fish producer organisations who said in a recent statement that: “Unfortunately, international experience indicates that the co-location of Offshore Wind with trawl fisheries is not possible. At present, we are experiencing a gold rush approach, as developers compete for space. We must defend our communities. The correct pathway must involve the recognition of traditional pre-existing fishing rights.”

The Norwegian marine insurance representative organisation. Det Norske Veritas (DNV), founded in Oslo in 1864, has issued a study of increasing demand for ocean space – ‘Ocean’s Future to 2050.’ This identifies growth in offshore wind power as a key driving force leading to a nine-fold increase in demand for ocean space by the middle of the century. By then, it predicts, “offshore wind will require ocean space equivalent to the landmass of Italy.

“The growth will be particularly pronounced in regions with long coastlines and presently have low penetration of offshore wind. Demand for ocean space is set to grow fifty-fold in the Indian Subcontinent and thirty-fold in North America and the Middle East. In all other regions, the demand for marine space should grow between five-and eight-fold.”

The Seafood Offshore Renewable Energy Group was set up by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, “to facilitate discussion on matters arising from the interaction of the seafood and offshore renewable energy industries, to promote and share best practice and to encourage liaison with other sectors in the marine environment.”

While there is general agreement, it seems – and public support about the future importance of wind energy all may not be going smoothly in getting agreement between the various interests.

Lack of enough information has been identified as a particular problem. The Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation is on the group, and its representative is Enda Conneely, who is my Podcast guest:

Podcast below

Offshore wind could support upwards of 5,000 jobs by 2037, a new report published on the Western Development Commission (WDC) website says.

The report says that offshore wind could generate up to €400 million in gross value add (GVA) annually by 2037 also.

It says that engineering, applied sciences, logistics and supply chain management will be “essential skills for the growth of the wind energy industry in the Atlantic region”.

Other occupations and skills required to support the industry include science and humanities; construction and technical; legal and professional services; transport; electrical maintenance and infrastructure, it says.

The report compiled by Dublin Offshore Consultants and Bigger Economics was presented to stakeholders across the region late last week.

The report considered three build-out scenarios across the Atlantic region. These allow projections under “Steady”, “Rapid”, and “Aspirational” outcomes.

The projections from the analysis in the study indicate that the offshore wind sector will overtake the onshore industry in the Atlantic region within 15 years.

The study also identifies several barriers to success and makes a number of key recommendations.

These include the delivery of a regionally inclusive national energy strategy to coordinate route to market and grid upgrades along the Atlantic region.

It also recommends developing new courses and centres targeting the wind energy sector, with a particular emphasis on floating offshore wind skills and expertise not currently offered by Irish educational bodies.

The study was commissioned by the Mid-West, North-West and West regional enterprise offices.

It was funded by the WDC, along with Enterprise Ireland Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme, Clare County Council, Donegal County Council, Leitrim County Council, Limerick County Council, Mayo County Council and Tipperary County Council.

The full report can be downloaded below

IberBlue Wind, a joint venture focused on the development of floating offshore wind farm projects, is commencing operations in Spain and Portugal with the aim of becoming one of the leading players in the offshore market off the Iberian Peninsula.

The company presented its strategic plans for the market today in Madrid. Its three backers - Global Irish company Simply Blue Group and the Spanish companies Proes Consultores and FF New Energy Ventures - have collectively extensive international experience in renewable project development. Thanks to this alliance, IberBlue Wind has the capacity to take on all phases of floating offshore wind farm development.

Simply Blue Group is a global developer of floating offshore wind farms with projects in Ireland, UK, US, Poland, and Sweden. Simply Blue Group currently has a pipeline of 10GW of projects under development. As part of its growth strategy, the company is now expanding into the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

Proes Consultores is the specialised engineering and architecture division of the Amper Group, with broad experience in the marine and coastal engineering sectors. Proes Consultores offers engineering, industrial and technological services and has participated in the design of Kincardine, a floating wind project in Scotland. Proes is one of the companies integrated into the Amper Group, a multidisciplinary group that also counts amongst its subsidiaries, Nervión Offshore, a global leader in the construction and assembly of offshore wind farms.

The third member is FF New Energy Ventures, a leader in the development, construction, and operation of solar photovoltaic and renewable energy plants in Spain, which has incorporated offshore wind energy into its portfolio. It is currently developing solar PV, wind and BESS projects in Spain and Portugal, having so far created a portfolio of 2 GW between the two countries, with more than 0.5 GW with connection rights already secured.

Supported by the alliance of these three leading companies, IberBlue Wind will participate in the public auctions for offshore sites off Spain and Portugal and will undertake the early development and design of the projects in advance of the construction and commissioning of wind turbines. To this end, its aim is to develop around 2 GW of floating offshore wind capacity off the Iberian Peninsula, comprising wind farms each of 500MW or more.

Initially, IberBlue Wind will focus on two strategically selected regions. In Spain, it will start in Andalusia, where it aspires to lead the promotion of offshore wind energy as a new economic engine for the region; and Galicia, one of the communities with the greatest potential for this form of renewable energy. In Portugal, IberBlue Wind will focus on the central and northern parts of the country where there is an excellent wind energy resource.

Iberian offshore wind market leadership potential

During the launch, Adrián de Andrés, Vice President of IberBlue Wind, highlighted "the potential for Spain and Portugal to become world leaders in offshore wind generation, as both countries have excellent wind resources, a long history in coastal engineering and first-class public works".

IberBlue Wind can play a key role in delivering this goal because, as De Andrés said, "we can leverage our knowledge and experience acquired in floating offshore wind projects in Great Britain, Ireland and elsewhere, in the Iberian market.” In his speech, the Vice President also called for the Spanish government to be "more ambitious" in the tendering of offshore wind farms. In this context, he stated that the generation capacity of these facilities in Spain could reach more than 10GW in the long-term future.

This generation capacity is much higher than initially envisaged in the Roadmap for Offshore Wind and Marine Energy Development, which has set a target of between 1 and 3GW by 2030. The current draft of the Marine Spatial Plan assigns a space for offshore wind that only covers 0.8% of the available maritime space along its 8,000km of coastline; a density that he described as "conservative" if one considers that leading countries such as Scotland already allocate around 2.5%.

Regarding Portugal, Adrián de Andrés considers that its legislation "is ready to provide exclusive maritime space for wind energy, although a regulation is needed to establish the procedure for the auctioning of these development rights". In Portugal, which has 987 kilometres of coastline, the government has committed to producing 8GW of ocean renewable energy in the coming years, almost double the 5.6GW of current onshore wind power generation capacity.

Offshore energy, under discussion

The presentation also included the round table "Offshore wind: the challenge of blue energy in the Iberian market", with the participation of Juan Ramón Ayuso, Head of the Wind and Offshore Energy Department of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE); Tomás Romagosa, Technical Director of the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE); Antonio Sarmento, President of WavEC Offshore Renewables of Portugal and Dorleta Marina, Portfolio Director of IberBlue Wind.

The experts analysed the current legislative context in Spain and Portugal and explained the main challenges facing the sector in the coming years.

About IberBlue Wind

IberBlue Wind is a joint venture developing offshore floating wind farm projects for the Iberian market. The partners are Simply Blue Group, a leader in offshore floating wind energy globally, and Spanish companies Proes Consultores, the engineering division of Grupo Amper, and FF New Energy Ventures (FF NEV), a developer of renewable projects. IberBlue’s objective is to help Spain and Portugal position themselves as leaders in this field of renewable energies.

Using its knowledge of the market and its extensive experience in the area of offshore wind farm development, IberBlue Wind will take advantage of the greater intensity of offshore wind to generate clean and efficient electricity from renewable sources.

To this end, IberBlue Wind aims to develop around 2GW of offshore wind energy capacity off the peninsula comprised of wind farms each of 500MW or more.

Three new research projects into the impact of offshore wind in British waters aim to provide “policy-ready” research outcomes to ensure expansion in line with biodiversity priorities.

The 8.7 million euro (£7.5 million sterling) ECOWind projects are being funded by Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and The Crown Estate, with support from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Britain has set a target of 50GW of offshore wind power by 2050, which could have an impact on the marine environment and on other stakeholders, including the fishing industry.

“The cumulative effects of building offshore wind farms at such a scale, coupled with the consequences of other human activities on marine life, are not well understood, particularly when also considering the future effects of climate change and ocean acidification on the sea,” the team involved in ECOWind says.

A third project, entitled PELAgIO, will look at the effects of offshore wind on a wide range of interacting marine factors

One of the three projects, entitled ECOWind-ACCELERATE and led by Bangor University, will investigate how offshore wind affects the seabed through altering water flow conditions, and what this means for the wider marine ecosystem.

“ When a wind turbine is installed, it changes the way ocean currents flow, which also changes the seabed, resulting in knock-on impacts up the food chain,” the project team says.

“ Using the Eastern Irish Sea as a case study, and in the context of accelerating climate change, the project will help build more accurate environmental prediction systems, including anticipated behaviour changes in animals such as seabirds resulting from impacts to the seabed,”it says.

“ It will also build a public-facing tool to help people understand if their data is fit for purpose when assessing risks and opportunities arising from changes to the seabed after windfarm expansion,” it says.

A second project, known as ECOWINGS and led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, will focus on the cumulative impacts of offshore wind on key seabird species in the North Sea, such as kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, and puffins.

“It will investigate exactly what causes seabirds to change their behaviour when offshore windfarms are built - for instance, if they avoid windfarms due to aversion of the turbines themselves, because their prey species have moved elsewhere, or both,” the team says.

“The project will use these findings to build a set of tools to inform strategic compensation, a type of policy measure that aims to offset any negative impacts on wildlife through supporting their populations via other means, such as habitat protection or creation,” it says.

A third project, entitled PELAgIO, will look at the effects of offshore wind on a wide range of interacting marine factors.

“Everything that happens in the ocean is interlinked, but these connections are not always immediately obvious. The project will begin by examining effects on ocean currents, seeing how they affect nutrients and plankton populations, before scaling up to investigate effects on plankton-eating fish such as sand eels and herring, followed by the animals that eat these fish, such as seabirds and seals,” the project team says.

“Its findings will help build tools to assess policy trade-offs at the ecosystem level and create a better understanding of the many interactions taking place in the ocean, and how they change when offshore wind and climate change are introduced,” it says. 

The three projects will begin with meetings with relevant stakeholders, “forming partnerships with the offshore wind industry to aid their research efforts, and producing policy-conscious research plans for the next four years”, the team says.

“They will work closely together to share research techniques and equipment, and ultimately their outputs will be brought together to produce a suite of resources for decision-makers,” it says.

More details on ecowind.uk

Early and better stakeholder consultation on offshore wind installation is vital, and more quantitative studies are needed to assess the monetary loss to fishing, a European Commission official has told an international workshop.

The workshop also heard how underwater noise and energy emissions, which could cause displacement of fish stocks, have been identified as negative impacts requiring more research.

The workshop hosted by the North Western Waters Advisory Council (NWWAC) and the Pelagic Advisory Council (PelAC) involved expert speakers from the European Commission, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the European Marine Board.

Its report has just been published on both organisations’ websites.

Céline Frank of DG MARE said that the Commission recently adopted the REPowerEU communication in response to the rise in energy prices, placing emphasis on the need for more renewable energy.

The European Commission plans to issue guidance on renewable energy permitting to shorten the administrative procedure in member states, she noted.

Frank outlined the results of a study prepared by DG MARE, led by Wageningen Marine Research.

It found the main impacts occur during construction of wind farms when disturbance and sediment displacement are higher.

She said that impacts are mitigated during the operational phase, which can also have positive effects on the environment, such as the creation of artificial reefs where marine organisms can find refuge and recovery.

However, the ecosystem is “likely to remain altered in its functions and processes”, and more research is needed on these aspects, she said.

She pointed out the importance of the marine spatial planning process, which should be accompanied by “continuous discussion and consultation with the different stakeholders involved”.

She said that compensation as a strategy has been approached in 11 different ways by member states, as some provide direct compensation to fishers while in others, it comes as part of a specific fund.

She said that more quantitative studies are needed to assess the monetary value of the loss of fishing.

She said it is evident that offshore wind farms tend to restrict fisheries activities due to safety implications, but cited Belgium as an example where no negative effect on fisheries were observed based on yearly aggregated vessel monitoring system-logbook data between 2006 and 2017.

Dr Andrew Gill, principal scientist, and strategic lead for offshore and marine renewable energy at Britain’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), outlined work by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on the topic.

He said an ICES offshore wind development and fisheries working group found an offshore wind farm’s closed area can provide potential refuge for fish species, creating a new habitat and acting as a de facto marine protected area.

However, energy emissions, such as noise and electromagnetic fields, could cause displacement and sublethal effects on fisheries species, he noted

In response to questions, Dr Gill said that though no work is being carried out yet, spawning is something ICES hopes to address in future.

He said there is also a growing worry about floating installations with a lot of conflicting opinions, but ways to collect the data must be found to answer these questions.

In a discussion, Irish South and East Fish Producers’ Organisation chief executive John Lynch said that in Ireland, stakeholder involvement started with prospective developers visiting the harbours and showing maps with sites already chosen.

The fishing industry was not consulted, he said, and the currently proposed developments around the Irish coast will lead to serious fisheries displacement as fishing vessels will have nowhere to go due to the sheer number of wind energy developments proposed.

Dr Gill said the Irish situation is “an example of what is happening in many other countries as well”.

He said early engagement is key, but “has not happened in most countries”.

"Deploying renewables is vital and would also mitigate the risk of energy price spikes"

Better stakeholder engagement, and the need to strike a “careful balance, so as not to create other problems” was noted by Goncalo Carvahlo of PelAC, who also noted that while underwater noise is “out of sight”, it “cannot be allowed” to be “out of scope”.

In his keynote address, DG MARE’s head of unit Felix Leinemann said that the aggressive invasion of Ukraine has made it “absolutely evident that Europe needs to move even faster to reshape its energy system and reduce dependency on Russian fossil energy in the very short term”.

Deploying renewables is vital in this process and would also mitigate the risk of energy price spikes, while effectively acting against climate change, Leinemann said.

The Commission’s offshore renewables strategy aims to have an installed capacity of at least 60 GW of offshore wind by 2030 in EU waters, and at least 300 GW by 2050 (both excluding the UK with its own targets).

He said existing users, including fisheries, must be “properly considered”, along with the protection of marine biodiversity.

Simply Blue Group, a leading Irish Blue economy developer in floating offshore wind, wave energy and low-impact aquaculture, has announced its second offshore wind project for Northern Ireland. The ‘Olympic Offshore Wind’ project is a sister project to ‘Nomadic Offshore Wind’ which was announced by the group earlier this year. Olympic Offshore Wind will provide a combined capacity of up to 1.3GW, located off the coast of County Down in Northern Ireland.

The Olympic Offshore Wind project will have an option to be developed in stages in-line with a stepping-stone concept that Simply Blue Group is using on other projects. This project will provide an opportunity for the local supply chain to set up and prepare for commercial-scale opportunities offshore in Northern Ireland.

Sam McCloskey, Northern Ireland Adviser at Simply Blue Group said: “We are delighted to add another offshore wind project to our Northern Ireland portfolio, as we believe the offshore environment off the coast of Northern Ireland offers huge potential to blue economy developers such as ourselves.”

Welcoming the Olympic Offshore Wind project, Steven Agnew, Head of Renewable NI, said “Offshore wind will play a crucial role in helping Northern Ireland to achieve a zero-carbon electricity system. RenewableNI is excited by the scale of the opportunity the Olympic project represents, adding to a growing portfolio of offshore developments that will bring jobs and investment as well as deliver low-cost electricity and increased energy security. It is vital that government matches the ambition of the Simply Blue Group and puts in place the consenting regime needed to deliver a thriving offshore renewables industry.”

Solent Gateway, the UK’s 'fastest-growing port', is offering a unique opportunity for the renewables sector with its designated Freeport status complemented with sea, road and rail access, opening substantial growth opportunities in the region.

The Sector Deal between the offshore wind industry and the UK Government in 2019 created certainty – unmatched by other European governments – that the UK will remain the anchor market for offshore wind. In the Solent region, this has created the potential for businesses to increase their involvement in key services such as designing, building and operating offshore wind farms, as well as manufacturing blades, turbine towers and cables. The region is proving to be well-positioned to support the growth in exports and, since the Sector Deal was made, the government has developed regional offshore wind clusters, which includes Solent, and has the ambition to increase the industry’s productivity, competitiveness and innovation while helping to grow the coastal economy.

Part of this growth includes Solent Gateway’s 225-acre Marchwood Port on the south coast of England, which offers a convenient and versatile strategic base for commercial stakeholders in the renewables supply chain. Solent Gateway already has a successful track record in the sector, handling wind blades that have been shipped to the port from Vestas on the Isle of Wight, where the company manufactures the largest offshore wind turbine blades in the world for the record-breaking V164-8.0 MW turbine.

Richard Parkinson, port director at Solent Gateway said: “The facilities we have at the port for handling abnormal loads, together with our experienced operations team, means we have the flexibility and capability to handle complex bespoke project lifts. We are seeing more businesses take advantage of us having the capability to move large parts safely from the quayside to a suitable holding area before being transported throughout the UK or transhipped onto other ocean-going vessels. 

“When the Freeport tax and customs site status is confirmed, it will be cheaper and easier for many raw materials to enter the UK for use in manufacturing within the Freeport. Teamed with simplified planning rules, this can help us quickly build or adapt our premises where needed. We are fortunate to be one of the very first Freeport tax and customs sites with new space available for business, so it’s a unique and cost-effective opportunity. 

“Being both a customs and tax site with over 64 hectares at our disposal, it’s likely that the businesses that will benefit most from using a site like Solent Gateway, under the Freeport status, would be those which want to develop new facilities and operations. This would see them benefiting from incentives to attract new business: importing goods and components to the UK; storing goods for as long as they want without facing customs duties after 90 days; and manufacturing or assembling products, as import duties are paid on final product or component parts when they leave the Freeport, whichever is cheaper. Any organisation that wants to import, manufacture and export within a customs site will avoid all duties. Any business that wants to store items for more than 90 days may also benefit.”

Marchwood Port started life as an MoD cargo port in 1943 and was only partially developed. There is much opportunity to use the capacity available and until now there has never been access to commercial business. The added bonus of being a former MoD site is the high level of security for the cargo.

The dedicated rail line is a relatively unusual offering, which allows loads to go straight from vessel to rail and move goods across the UK through the national rail network whilst reducing the traffic on the roads. In the current climate, it is also proving popular in alleviating some of the stress associated with the current HGV driver shortages. The rail connectivity takes you to the main line at Totton and from there north into the UK’s industrial heartland.

Solent Gateway is just 15 minutes to the M27 and M3 motorways and the port offers many incentives for new business, including the option for businesses to take land and build their own bespoke storage facility and utilise the port’s highly-skilled port operations team for your cargo handling needs. Solent Gateway prides itself on collaborative partnerships with its customers and strives to create the best possible port environment to allow businesses to thrive.

According to the Climate Change Advisory Council, investment needs to be made urgently in areas such as decarbonising the electricity system with renewables like offshore winds.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the chair of the Council Marie Donnelly said it was clear that Ireland would not be able to operate a straight linear line from 2021 to 2030 in order to achieve its carbon emission reductions.

She said this is why it was decided that two carbon budgets were needed in order for Ireland to achieve its aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% within a decade.

The first carbon budget, running from 2021 - 2025, will see emissions reduce by 4.8% on average each year for five years.

The second carbon budget, running from from 2026 - 2030, will see emissions reduce by 8.3% on average each year for five years.

Ms Donnelly said: "The really clear message is that we need to take action now in order to get the benefit of the emission reductions in the second budget period."

More from RTE News here. 

The south Connemara harbour of Ros an Mhíl could become a strategic hub for the floating offshore wind sector with potential for 900 jobs, according to a new report.

The report, commissioned by Údarás na Gaeltachta and presented to Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue today, was carried out by Dublin Offshore Consultants.

It identifies what is described as “a major opportunity for the Galway Gaeltacht and the wider economy” that could “revitalise the west coast from Clare’s Loop Head to Mayo’s Béal an Mhuirthead.

Ros a Mhíl does not currently have the capacity to support large scale offshore construction activities, the report says.

"Ros a Mhíl is “unique among ports on the Irish west coast in having existing permission for infrastructure"

However, it says planning permission granted to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in 2018 for a 200m deepwater quay “provides opportunity to develop the necessary onshore infrastructure”.

Ros a Mhíl is “unique among ports on the Irish west coast in having existing permission for infrastructure with the potential to support the floating offshore wind project pipeline”, it says.

The report identified possible scenarios, namely:

Ros an Mhíl has the potential to be a strategic hub with an important role to play in supporting the “significant pipeline of floating offshore wind on the Irish west coast;

The proximity of Ros an Mhíl to offshore project locations, and its potential deep berth, provide the opportunity for the cost-effective and timely entry into the offshore energy market;

Based on servicing 3GW of projects, this has the potential to result in up to 900 direct and indirect jobs for the region;

Ros an Mhíl benefits from a significant land bank adjacent to the proposed 12m deep-water berth, under the ownership of both Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine;

Early signs of market intent for offshore wind in the region have been demonstrated by Green Investment Group’s recent acquisition of the 400MW Sceirde Rocks offshore wind farm off the Connemara coast;

A key component of Údarás na Gaeltachta’s strategic plan 2021 – 2025 is the “Green Gaeltacht”. Developing Ros an Mhíl as a strategic support hub for the offshore wind industry will “go a long way in supporting this initiative”, it says, and has been long identified by the authority as a strategic resource, where there are feasible opportunities for the harbour to be a strategic national centre for marine renewable energy.

Údarás na Gaeltachta is “working hand in hand with the community and the harbour development committee” to ensure that the harbour will have the opportunity to “attain every possible benefit from this sector in future” and that the appropriate basic infrastructure is available in the area to that end.

Welcoming the publication, Mr McConalogue thanked Údarás na Gaeltachta for its “foresight in having this report available to contribute to the deliberations on the future direction of investment at Ros an Mhíl”.

“There is a broad context here of cross-cutting Government policies and I understand that Údarás will take this report forward with their minister so that there can be a rounded consideration of the policy issues and investment needs raised,” he said.

Údaras na Gaeltachta chair Anna Ní Ghallachair and its chief executive officer Mícheál Ó hÉanaigh also welcomed the publication.

Marine Renewables Industry Association (MRIA) chair Peter Coyle said “the enormous wind and wave energy resource off the west coast should drive major new income and job creation in the area over the next twenty years”.

“Key to exploiting this opportunity is port facilities. The MRIA has long held the view that new port capacity will be required in the west - over and above the well-regarded ambitions of Galway and Shannon Foynes - and Ros an Mhíl is the obvious candidate with its deep water, land availability, geographical advantage and the support of Údarás na Gaeltachta,” he said.

Simply Blue Group director of stakeholder liaison and external affairs Brian Fitzgerald said that “as developers of the Western Star floating offshore wind project off the Clare coast, Simply Blue Group are passionate about the opportunities this brings for the west coast of Ireland”.

“Key to unlocking this potential is the need to have strategically located ports, to support the development of local supply chains,” he said.

“Assessment of the Technical, Environmental and Socio-Economic opportunities and constraints for Ros an Mhíl port considering the proposed development of Floating Offshore Wind (FOW) on the west coast of Ireland” is available here