Ireland’s Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien has today announced the commencement of work on the preparation of a National Offshore Renewable (ORE) Energy Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP).
The use of strategically planned DMAPs will ensure that developments in Ireland’s maritime area take place in a managed and sustainable way.
The work on a National DMAP, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, builds on the success of the South Coast ORE DMAP which was approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas last October.
O’Brien said: “This supports our decarbonisation ambitions and our offshore renewables target of 20GW by 2040.
“Having a single National DMAP will accelerate the process of site designation for offshore renewable energy.
“Having a single National DMAP supports the Programme for Government commitment and will provide greater certainty for our marine stakeholders and the renewables industry.
“An integrated, national approach will ensure that strategic forward planning for skills, enterprise and the industry-wide supply chain development can take place.
“Ports will have the ability to forward plan for the necessary large-scale offshore infrastructure build-outs required to support ORE development, while forward planning for grid and interconnection can occur within the framework of a long-term holistic view. By focussing on a single DMAP, we will be able to maximise our resources, in terms of financial, human and time.”
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Industry will welcome the certainty and the ambition the Government is providing with this new approach.
“It will take time, and we will do everything we can to help speed things up, but once complete this will provide enough sites to accelerate the development of offshore renewable energy and to put Ireland firmly at the heart of Europe’s response to the energy and climate crises.”
The Government has committed to achieving at least 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity, which will contribute to its target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030.
To deliver Ireland’s offshore wind energy ambitions, the Government has implemented a plan-led approach which is being overseen by a cross-Government Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce.
This will ensure that development of offshore renewable energy is delivered through a number of overlapping phases – in a planned, strategic, economical and sustainable way, which will also guide investment in this sector.
The National DMAP will be delivered by a Project Team in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, supported by a Steering Group comprised of sectoral experts from across relevant Government Departments.
Preparatory work is well underway, and work can commence immediately on the statutory process. The identification of suitable areas for offshore renewable energy will be determined following a process of rigorous analysis of maritime and environmental data using Geographic Information System (GIS) software.
Technical feasibility will be a key factor in determining the outer boundary for the DMAP. The Department will work with the State’s maritime experts, such as the Marine Institute, to ensure that the approach will be evidence-based – using robust and best available data.
Progress on key milestones, including public engagement milestones, will be reported on in a dedicated National DMAP workstream under the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce and through the Project Ireland Marine 2040 Group.
Minister of State in the Departments of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment and the Environment, Climate and Communications, Alan Dillon said: “This national spatial plan will radically transform how we deliver offshore wind energy and is a strong signal of the state’s ambitions in the renewables sector.
“The subsequent roll-out of renewable energy infrastructure will mean we can rapidly scale-up the energy transition and add another layer to achieving a green economic future.”