Public consultation on developing a network of offshore wind farms to meet Ireland’s climate targets has been extended by three weeks.
An original deadline of July 1st for the public’s views on how offshore wind energy should be modelled has now been set at July 22nd.
Coastal communities and the renewable energy sector had originally been given a short timeline to respond to a consultation paper on offshore wind farming published last month by outgoing Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton.
The department – which is to be merged with Transport under new minister Eamon Ryan – has confirmed that submissions should be made via its original website address.
Under the Government’s Climate Action Plan, 70% of Ireland’s electricity will be generated from renewable energy by 2030.
The new Programme for Government increases a target of 3.5 gigawatts (GW) from offshore wind to five GW off the Irish east and south coasts by 2030.
It also commits to drawing up plans for draw up plans for exploiting the west coast renewable energy resource.
A consultancy report, published by Mr Bruton, outlines four options - ranging from a “developer-led” scenario, where each project would design its own connection to a more centralised “plan-led” offshore transmission development with more State involvement.
The consultation will inform a Government decision on the “appropriate offshore grid model for Ireland”, the department says.
The report by Navigant consultants from the Netherlands was commissioned for a working group involving Eirgrid, ESB Networks and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. It examines how other European countries approach offshore grid planning and examines potential options that might be suitable for Ireland.
This model will be aligned with Ireland’s new National Marine Planning Framework, and the development consent regime for the maritime area as set out in the Maritime Planning and Development Management legislation.
More details on the consultation are here