An indicative “road map” towards the State’s next offshore wind auction has been published by the Government.
The timeline relates to “ORESS 2.1”, which will take place off Ireland’s south coast and provide for up to 900MW of offshore wind.
Public consultation is already taking place on a draft Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP), within the marine waters off the south coast, aiming to “determine the appropriate location for the auction site off the south coast”.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has welcomed the publication by the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) of long-range plans by its members, including Ireland, towards the development of offshore wind up to 2040.
The plans put forward “indicative auction timelines” for offshore wind auctions across all nine NSEC member states up to 2030, which includes their potential construction window up to 2040.
“The published database also includes Ireland’s indicative plans to meet its 2040 target of 20GW of offshore wind through competitive processes in the period up to 2030, with related construction taking place up to 2040,” Ryan’s department says.
In September 2022, at the NSEC Ministerial Meeting hosted in Dublin, nine NSEC countries agreed to reach at least 260GW of offshore wind energy by 2050.
“The target highlighted a significant increase in the collective ambition of NSECs members. It represented more than 85% of the EU-wide ambition of reaching 300GW by 2050, as set out in the EU strategy for offshore renewable energy,” the Department of Environment says.
The 2050 NSEC ambitions are complemented with intermediate targets of at least 76 GW by 2030 and 193 GW by 2040, of which Ireland will contribute 5GW and 20GW, respectively.
“The success of Ireland’s first offshore wind auction earlier this year highlighted Ireland’s enormous potential in offshore wind,” Ryan, who attended an NSEC meeting in The Hague, says.
“ORESS 2.1 will be another important milestone towards the delivery of our offshore wind ambitions and to reach our climate targets,” he said.
“Our ambitions in the area will be further supported by the publication next year of Ireland’s Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Future Framework for post-2030 Offshore Wind, by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications,” he said.
The NSEC is a regional non-binding and voluntary EU cooperation framework which aims to advance development of offshore renewable energy in the geographical area of the North Seas, including the Irish and Celtic Seas.
The NSEC is based on a political declaration adopted in 2016, and members are Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the European Commission.