SSE Renewables is rebranding its Braymore Wind Park project as Setanta Wind Park, following consultation with communities in in Louth, Meath and North Dublin.

“The new name will better reflect the region in which the project is situated, while highlighting local folklore and history,” the company says, noting the significance of Cú Chulainn — the warrior previously known as Setanta — to the people of Co Louth in particular.

The proposed Setanta Wind Park site is situated off the in the Irish Sea between Dunany Point in Co Louth at its most northern point and Braymore Point in Co Dublin, and secured a foreshore licence to facilitate surveys of the seabed to enhance understanding of the prevailing conditions at the site.

Once operational, SSE Renewables says, Setanta Wind Park will be capable of generating up to 1GW of renewable energy, powering over one million homes and offsetting up to one billion kgs of carbon annually.

The site location for Setanta Wind Park was chosen following a phased site selection process that considered regional resources and constraints and assessed the renewable generation capacity of the area.

These assessments inform the position, size and shape of the proposed area to be surveyed and are currently in review. Once this information has been gathered, it will be used, alongside information gathered during consultation with stakeholders to further refine the site area, SSE says.

Meanwhile, the company’s engagement with local communities continues with the launch of local schools’ art competition with an IT prize fund of €6,000.

Students from schools in Louth, Meath East and North Dublin are invited to email their depiction of folklore legend Setanta to [email protected] by Friday 23 December. Schools should nominate three entries per class group to submit in the following categories: Junior Infants & Senior Infants; First, Second and Third Class; and Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Class. Winners will be notified by 6 January 2023.

Various works are taking place this month to facilitate the development of the Braymore Wind Park in the north Irish Sea.

A geophysical survey was scheduled to start last week to be completed by early November, subject to weather and operational constraints, to provide site investigation information for the proposed Braymore Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) Array.

The Braymore WTG Array area is located some 18km from Dunany Point in Co Louth at its most northerly point and Braymore Point in Co Dublin at its most southerly.

Operations will be conducted on a 24-hour basis by the Roman Rebel (callsign 2ICA5) and on a 12-hour basis by the Lady Kathleen (Callsign EIXT2). The vessels will display appropriate lights and signals.

Due to the deployment of towed survey equipment, the survey vessels will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre when surveying.

All other vessels operating in their vicinity are requested to keep their distance and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash. Mariners are advised to keep continuous watch on VHF radio channel 16 when navigating the survey area.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area, as well as contact details, can be found in Marine Notice No 66 of 2022, attached below.

Meanwhile, three surface buoys, three guard buoys and one sub-surface mooring are to be deployed at the wind farm site for a metocean and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) survey campaign.

The deployments are expected to be completed over a two-day period from this Wednesday 5 October, subject to weather and operational constraints. The devices will remain deployed for a period of 12 months.

These operations will be conducted by the Damen Shoalbuster 2409 versatile multi-purpose and shallow draft tug AMS Retriever (callsign MEHI8).

During operations, the vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre and all other vessels are requested to leave a wide berth during the deployment operations. Radio transmissions will be conducted with other seafarers to notify them of the operations.

Characteristics of the buoys, as well as contact details, coordinates and a map of the deployment area, are included in Marine Notice No 67 of 2022 as attached below.