Four offshore wind projects which were successful in the State’s auction results this week are expected to pursue their respective planning approvals.

The four projects – three on the east coast and one on the West – are predicted to generate 3GW if given final go-ahead.

The three farms in the Irish Sea are:

• Kish Bank, some 11km off the coast of Dublin (500MW);
• The Dublin Array, 10km from the coast between Dublin and Wicklow (824MW);
• Codling Banks, the largest of the three, which is 13km off the Co Wicklow coast.

The Sceirdre Rocks project in north Galway Bay has also been approved. It was the subject of a number of objections in its foreshore license application on grounds of visual impact and potential disturbance to marine life and impact on fishing communities.

The remaining 2GW required for the Government’s target will be the focus of a phase-two auction.

Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan has welcomed the auction results, and the price secured of €86.05 per MW hour, which he has described as one of the “lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world”.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has today welcomed the provisional results of the first offshore wind auction under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1). The results mark a breakthrough moment for Ireland’s offshore wind future.

ORESS is an auction-based process which invites renewable energy projects to compete against each other, by bidding as low as possible, in order to win contracts to provide electricity at the bid price for a twenty-year period.

The auction results have surpassed expectations, both in terms of the total volume of renewable energy procured and the low price at which it has been secured. The hugely competitive price secured — at an average of €86.05/MWh — is one of the lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world. For comparison, the average wholesale electricity price in Ireland over the past 12 months was in excess of €200/MWh. It is expected that this price will save Irish electricity consumers hundreds of millions of euros per year.

Over 3GW of capacity has been procured from four offshore wind projects, which will deliver over 12TWh* (Terawatt-hours) of renewable electricity per year. This is the largest volume of renewable energy Ireland has ever procured at auction — equivalent to over a third of Ireland’s entire electricity consumption this year and over a quarter of projected 2030 electricity demand. It is also enough to power over 2.5 million Irish homes with clean electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 1 million tonnes in 2030.

Welcoming the provisional results, Minister Ryan said:

“The provisional results of the ORESS 1 auction are not just a hugely positive story for Irish energy consumers, but for Ireland as a whole. The results are further evidence of what many of us have known for a long time; that we, as a nation, can develop and produce enormous quantities of clean energy – securely and at low cost.

“My Department is developing further offshore wind auctions to bring us closer to this energy-independent future, while also chairing the whole-of-Government Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce to maximise the benefits to the economy, local communities, and the environment.”

The results announced today are provisional and are subject to the normal RESS confirmation and State Aid processes, both of which are expected to be complete by mid-June, as per EirGrid’s published auction timetable.

Under the community benefit fund provisions of ORESS 1, the successful projects are required to make payments to local marine and coastal communities hosting offshore renewable energy projects. These communities will now benefit from over €24 million per year, beginning before construction and continuing for up to 20 years after a project begins to produce renewable energy.

EDF Renewables and Fred Olsen Seawind have welcomed Codling Wind Park’s success in Ireland’s first offshore wind energy auction.

Codling Wind Park is a 50:50 joint venture between EDF Renewables and Fred. Olsen Seawind. With an expected capacity of up to 1,300 megawatts (MW), it has the potential to supply the equivalent of over one million Irish homes with low-carbon, locally produced, low-cost electricity, and to save almost 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

Earlier today, EirGrid provisionally confirmed that Codling Wind Park’s bid under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) has been successful, ahead of final auction results to be issued in mid-June.

Commenting on the successful bid, Codling Wind Park Co-Project Directors Scott Sutherland and Thomas Gellert said: “This is a great day in the fight against climate change, and for Ireland’s plans to become energy self-sufficient. With Codling Wind Park’s successful bid, Ireland’s largest Phase 1 offshore project of 1,300MW capacity, moves a considerable step closer to reality.”

“There is an immense wealth of low-carbon, potential power available in the seas around this country. Today’s successful auction results will increase confidence in Ireland’s ability to realise the opportunities of offshore energy. We look forward to working with the government, state agencies and most of all local communities to ensure that the significant benefits of Irish offshore energy can be delivered to the people of Ireland.”

Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables UK and Ireland, welcomed the news as a positive step forward for the Irish offshore industry: “We’re delighted that Codling Wind Park has been successful with its ORESS bid. As the country’s largest Phase 1 offshore wind farm, Codling will be crucial to Ireland meeting its renewable energy targets and securing its energy supply.

“EDF Renewables is a major player in the global offshore wind market, and we’re committed to drawing on that international experience to support Ireland in capitalising on its immense offshore wind potential. Today’s announcement is an important step on that journey. Together with our joint venture partner we will build on this positive news and work closely with our project partners, the Irish Government, and other stakeholders to deliver on what will be one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in Ireland this decade.”

Lars Bender, CEO of Fred. Olsen Seawind commented: "We are very pleased with today's result, which proves the strong, experienced joint venture partnership and the good collaboration between the partners as well as with the supply chain. The success today is a significant testimony to all the hard work carried out by Codling Wind Park and the shareholder teams to reach this point. On behalf of the joint venture partners, we thank all involved and look forward to the journey ahead of us.

“As the largest offshore wind farm project in Ireland, considerable economic benefit will be brought to Ireland. We look forward to engaging further with local communities, government and supply chain in developing Ireland's offshore wind skills base and contributing towards Ireland succeeding in delivering on climate change targets."

Results of Ireland’s first offshore renewable energy auction are expected to be published by EirGrid on Thursday (May 11).

The offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction invites developers of renewable energy projects to compete for contracts providing electricity at a guaranteed price.

Offshore’s first RESS involves the seven offshore wind projects which were fast-tracked for marine area consents (MAC) last year – six in the Irish Sea and one the Sceirde rocks projects, in north Galway Bay.

The system is similar to the two onshore auctions which have taken place to date - RESS 1 in 2020 and RESS 2 in 2022, with a third due this summer.

Once companies are happy with the contract terms, they are obliged to apply for planning permission.

Offshore planning is being handled by the new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA).

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has rejected the description of Ireland as a “laggard” in offshore wind energy.

He was responding to a University College Cork (UCC) report criticising what it identified as a lack of Government support for the offshore renewable sector.

The report, entitled “Innovation, Networking and Policy in the Offshore Renewable Energy Sector”, was compiled by the Cork University Business School in UCC.

It identified the main barriers for Irish companies in the sector as bureaucracy and regulation, insufficient support and engagement by government, along with a lack of funding.

Scientists, environmental and fishing representatives believe more research is required to measure the impact on marine habitats of offshore wind structures.

Ireland is among a group of eight European countries aiming to quadruple wind energy generation and develop “islands” linking offshore energy infrastructure.

As the Irish Times reports, the plans was outlined at a summit on Monday in the coastal Belgian city of Ostend, and extends from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

Varadkar said Ireland was very glad to be part of the group, as there was a risk that "everything would happen in the North Sea, and we'd be kind of left out on a limb and then trying to connect in later," he told the newspaper.

“But this means as things get built out in the North Sea, we’ll be part of that,” he said. The North Sea is viewed as ideal for offshore wind as it is relatively shallow compared to the Atlantic.

Mr Varadkar told a press conference after the summit that Ireland aimed to build wind energy farms with the capacity to produce roughly five times the entire current national electricity demand.

He described it as a “huge economic opportunity”.

Read more in The Irish Times here

Three national marine events take place in Limerick next week, involving offshore wind energy, aquaculture and the fishing industry.

On the eve of the Irish Skipper Expo at the University of Limerick (UL), IFA Aquaculture is hosting its annual conference and annual general meeting at the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel in Castletroy on February 23rd.

Separately, Simply Blue offshore wind developers are hosting the second annual Seafarers’ Conference with the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) at the Castletroy Park, Hotel, also on February 23rd.

The Irish Skipper Expo runs over two days at UL from Friday, February 24th-25th.

Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue and newly appointed BIM chief executive Caroline Bocquel are keynote speakers at the IFA Aquaculture conference, which will hear about BIM support for the industry, the carbon footprint of the Irish aquaculture sector, licensing and marine protected areas (MPAs).

Ms Bocquel is also participating in the Seafarers’ Conference, on the theme “Thriving Fishing, Thriving Offshore Wind, Thriving Ports and Coastal Communities – Can We Do It?”

The in-person and online conference will hear from Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation Simon Harris by video-link.

Scientists, fishing industry representatives, offshore wind developers and consultants and Government officials will participate in the one-day event, which will focus on how the fishing industry and offshore wind can co-exist.

Over 140 companies and Government agencies will be participating in The Irish Skipper Expo, with the latest fishing vessel designs on display along with exhibits by the Irish Coast Guard, BIM and others.

Full details of all three events are on the links below

https://www.ifa.ie/agmaqua/

https://simplybluegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/NMCI-Seafarers-Conference-2023-Programme.pdf

https://theskipper.ie/doors-open-one-week-today-irish-skipper-expo-2023/

An international law firm has established a practice group specialising in offshore wind at its Dublin offices.

Law firm Clark Hill LLP said it intends to offer expertise in the “rapidly growing Irish offshore wind industry “ and steer clients and local communities “through the potential bottleneck involved in the consenting and planning process”.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan commits the State to a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030.

It will accelerate the delivery of onshore wind and offshore wind, promising to deliver 9GW of onshore wind and up to 7GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Kirby Tarrant of Clark Hill Dublin said Ireland was uniquely placed to become self-sufficient in energy.

“This offers both opportunity and challenges as Ireland addresses climate change, generates clean electricity and creates jobs,” Tarrant said, noting that a “wide range of specialist legal support” would be necessary.

Clark Hill consultant Aidan Eames said that offshore wind projects “have a complex journey to conclusion, often taking up to ten years through consent, planning, survey, design, manufacture, and installation”.

“With offshore turbines on the seabed, there are multiple stakeholder groups to be consulted, including fisheries, heritage, ecology, military, telecommunications and government agencies,” Eames said.

“ Developers will also have to work with the onshore communities through the complex consenting process for wind energy production,” he said.

“As announcements and investments are made in the area of offshore wind development, the consent and planning process is where the major bottleneck arises,” he said.

“ At present there is a significant shortage of resources and personnel at An Bord Pleanála to deal with the anticipated surge in applications for planning consents under the new Marine Area Planning Act 2021. This could add up to two or three years to an already extended process for bringing these major offshore wind projects to completion,” he said.

Clark Hill says its team includes experienced regulatory, planning, energy, property, commercial, and transport law practitioners who work together to develop integrated, practical solutions for our clients.

Dan Simon, a partner in the Clark Hill Washington DC office and member of the company’s offshore wind practice group, said that “coastal communities and other stakeholders need to be consulted and buy into the offshore wind energy programme”.

“There is a significant consultation process and community gain required in this area. Clark Hill is already in discussions with some of those communities and agencies to ensure the process goes smoothly,” Simon said.

“This helps understand all perspectives and identify potential objections before they arise, so that they can be addressed professionally, practically and with expedience,”he said.

Clark Hill is based in 27 locations, with more than 700 lawyers spanning the United States, Ireland, and Mexico.

Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan says that offshore wind generators will be required to make “substantial annual contributions” to community benefit funds.

He says that coastal and marine communities will “benefit significantly from offshore renewable electricity projects” as a result.

He says that a key feature of a new framework, known as the “Community Benefit Fund Rulebook for Generators and Fund Administrators”, is that generators must start making contributions from the early stages of the offshore wind project – as in prior to beginning operation.

“This means that coastal and marine communities could start to benefit from as early as 2025 and could look forward to receiving benefits for up to 25 years in total,”he says.

Community Benefit Fund Rulebook for Generators and Fund Administrators

Contributions to these funds will be determined by the amount of energy generated, with €2 required to be paid for every MWh of electricity generated over the lifetime of the support period, he says.

Given the anticipated high levels of offshore generation, the amounts involved are expected to be very substantial — approximately €4 million per annum from a typical 500MW offshore wind project, and almost €20 million per annum from all projects expected to deploy via the first auction for offshore wind under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1), he says.

The community benefit fund procedure has been collaboratively developed following extensive consultation with communities and industry, he says.

He says the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) will be providing a critical role in the monitoring and compliance of the funds.

The first offshore competition under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1) was launched last November.

“ORESS auctions in the coming years will procure further offshore wind capacity to reach our 2030 target of 7GW, while also maintaining community benefit provisions to ensure that hosting communities continue to benefit from the enormous potential of offshore renewable energy,”he said.

“Local coastal and marine communities will play a central role in facilitating and supporting the development of Ireland’s offshore renewable electricity ambitions as a vital component in meeting Ireland’s commitments under the 2023 Climate Action Plan,”he said.

“ In addition to the jobs, opportunities and business off-shore wind will help generate on-shore, this community benefit fund, built into the off-shore programme, ensures that community life and fabric more broadly can also be enhanced and supported,”he says.

The community benefit fund rulebook sets out the basis of the working relationship between each generator and the professional fund administrator it must appoint to undertake the implementation of the fund for their respective projects, he says.

It provides details on how each fund must be established and conducted to be properly representative of the local community, including fishers, seafood culture, tourism, the wider blue economy, and maritime heritage. The fund administrator will undertake the day-to-day operation of the fund on behalf of the local community, while decision-making on the allocation of funds remains within the community itself, he says.

Further information is available here.

Ocean Winds and Bord na Móna has launched a major new offshore wind partnership at an event with Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Dublin.

The partnership brings together leading international offshore wind energy expert Ocean Winds (OW) with Bord na Móna, one of Ireland’s oldest semi-states working at the forefront of energy technology, to combine their efforts in leveraging Ireland’s offshore wind power resources.

The long-term, exclusive partnership will see Ocean Winds and Bord na Móna co-own, identify and develop offshore wind energy opportunities around the coast of Ireland.

The joint venture initially incorporates two potential projects, Réalt na Mara, off the coast of Dublin and Wicklow, and Celtic Horizon, off the coast of Wexford and Waterford. Engagement on both projects with local communities, stakeholders and the fishing industry is currently underway. The projects have the potential to generate up to 2.3 GW Gigawatts (GW) of clean and renewable electricity to power up to 2.1 million homes by 2030. By reducing Ireland’s reliance on gas and oil it will also help safeguard Irish communities from global energy price fluctuations.

Grzegorz Gorski, COO of Ocean Winds with Bord na Móna Chief Executive Tom Donnellan and Bautista Rodríguez, Chief Executive Officer Ocean Winds. Photo: Jason Clarke

The collaboration marks a significant step forward for Bord na Móna’s commitment to developing clean energy resources. This offshore wind joint venture will specifically support Ireland achieve target of 7GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030.

Ocean Winds, energy leaders ENGIE and EDPR’s joint venture dedicate to offshore wind energy, brings a track record of experience to help develop the offshore renewable industry in Ireland, with a current portfolio of 14 offshore wind farms in 7 countries, with a 14.6 GW of gross capacity, including 1.5 GW already in operation.

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment commented, “The Irish Government recognises our geographic and climate advantages in terms of wind energy and is developing public policy proposals to support this. This joint venture is a momentous step towards our commitment to produce most of our electricity from renewable sources – up to 80% – by 2030. It also marks a new chapter in Bord na Móna’s 90-year history in supplying energy to local communities across the island. Ocean Winds’ international expertise and record of accomplishment is supporting Ireland to increase its offshore wind capacity. I look forward to this partnership helping to ensure a secure, sustainable, and cost-effective energy future for Ireland.”

Ossian Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement and eGovernment at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said, “Today’s launch is a significant step for Bord na Móna in terms of their transition to a leading climate solutions company and supporting and delivering Ireland’s objective, to become carbon neutral by 2050. Ireland, and indeed Bord na Móna, has a great track record of building on shore, now we prove our capabilities offshore. Between creating employment, and providing secure, sustainable and cheaper electricity - the scale and potential benefit to our country is beyond compare. Bord na Móna is repeatedly proving itself to be very much “More than Móna”.

Also speaking at the launch, Grzegorz Gorski, COO of Ocean Winds said, “Ocean Winds is delighted to announce this joint venture today with Bord na Móna which we believe is the perfect pairing of our international expertise with Bord na Móna’s long history working in local communities in Ireland. We look forward to forging a long-term relationship with Bord na Móna to support Ireland in its bid to harness its natural wind resources for a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.”

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment speaking at the Ocean Winds and Bord na Móna new offshore wind partnership

He added, “By working closely with local stakeholders OW aims to bring together communities and to support their development through ongoing engagement and investment with more than a decade’s experience, OW has a strong track record of using our strength as global leaders in the renewables sector to create opportunities for local companies who want to expand and diversify into the emerging offshore wind sector.”

Bord na Móna Chief Executive Tom Donnellan said “Today we are making a giant leap forward towards energy independence for Ireland. Bord na Móna has always been a cornerstone of Irish energy security. We have been developing renewable energy infrastructure since the early 1990s working with communities to deliver a range of lasting local and regional benefits. Ocean Winds bring an incredible wealth of experience in developing and delivering offshore energy from around the globe. Together we will ensure that Ireland’s vast untapped reservoir of offshore energy will be harnessed for the good of Irish society, the economy and the planet. The projects we will develop will be of such a large scale that Ireland will be able to rely on Irish energy sources and massively reduce dependence on foreign pollutants including gas and oil”.

Offshore wind farms will be affected by a new EU council regulation to ensure "windfall gains" from the energy sector.

The Government says it has decided to place a cap on all market revenues of non-gas electricity generators, whereby excess revenues will be “collected and used to support electricity consumers”.

Proceeds could range from around €300 million to €1.9 billion, through the cap on market revenues and a “temporary solidarity contribution” from fossil fuel companies, it estimates.

The cap on market revenues from December of this year to June of next year will apply to non-gas electricity generators with a capacity of 1 MW or more, and involves:

• a cap of €120 per MWh for wind and solar;
• a cap of at least €180 per MWh for oil-fired and coal-fired generation;
• a cap of €180 per MWh on other non-gas generation

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to unprecedented increases in wholesale natural gas prices, impacting the prices paid by consumers, but also leading to windfall gains in some areas of the energy sector,” Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan said.

“The agreement of the EU Council Regulation and the Government’s approval on its implementation will ensure that windfall gains will be collected and redistributed to support energy consumers,” he said.

The €120 per MWh cap for wind and solar takes into account the revenues generators would have expected to earn prior to the increase in gas prices, which was less than €100 per MWh, and the limited increase in costs incurred by these generators, his department says.

“It should also be noted that where electricity suppliers can demonstrate that revenues in excess of the cap are being passed on through lower prices to final consumers, those revenues will not be subject to the cap,”the department says.

“ The cap on market revenues will operate from December 2022 to June 2023 inclusive, as set out in the Council Regulation,”it says.

The Government says has also decided to implement the “temporary solidarity contribution”, as set out in the Council Regulation, to companies which are active in fossil fuel production and refining for the years 2022 and 2023.

This “ temporary solidarity contribution” is based on the portion of a company’s taxable profits which are more than 20% higher than a baseline, it says

“ The baseline will be the average taxable profits for the company for the period 2018 to 2021. Losses from previous years will not be taken into account in the calculation of the taxable profits in temporary solidarity contribution or the baseline,”Ryan’s department says.

“Taxable profits which are more than 20% above the baseline will be subject to the temporary solidarity contribution at a rate of 75%,” it says.

“ This will lead to an effective rate of 0% for windfall gains of up to 20%, an effective rate of 50% for windfall gains of 60%* and an effective rate of 60% for windfall gains of 100% (i.e. where profits have doubled),”it says.

“Given the volatility of gas prices, the level of proceeds from the cap on market revenues and the temporary solidarity contribution cannot be estimated with any certainty,” it says.

“ Depending on the price level of natural gas, the proceeds could range from circa €300 million to €1.9 billion. However, the level is expected to be in the lower end of this range and could be even lower if gas prices reduce,” it adds.

Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan

Proceeds from the cap on-market revenues are expected to be collected in 2023, with proceeds from the temporary solidarity contribution to be collected in 2023 and 2024.

The EU Council Regulation says that the proceeds can be used to the benefit of electricity consumers.

This could include reductions in network charges, or supports provided directly to consumers, similar to those already in place.

The Government says it “will determine, in due course, how best to distribute these proceeds”.