Ireland’s Oireachtas has approved the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) which identifies four future sites for new offshore wind farms off the southern coast.
This clears the way for an auction to take place early next year for the first of the sites, Tonn Nua, which would be a 900MW offshore wind farm expected to be completed early in the 2030s.
A motion approving the plan was passed without opposition in Seanad Éireann and then in the Dáil.
Wind Energy Ireland chief executive Noel Cunniffe (pictured) said: “Ireland has taken a significant step forward in accelerating the development of offshore renewable energy.
“The approval of the first designated maritime area plan for offshore wind provides a pipeline of future projects and clears the way for a next offshore wind auction early in 2025.
“Irish people want clean energy, affordable energy and a secure supply of energy. This is what projects like Tonn Nua will deliver as well as enormous economic opportunities for the south coast of Ireland.
“The government’s new industrial strategy for offshore wind energy will help to ensure the benefits from our offshore wind revolution stay in Ireland, creating Irish jobs, supporting local businesses and revitalising our coastal communities.”
The south-coast DMAP was prepared following multiple rounds of intensive public consultation and engagement by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications with communities, local representatives, environmental stakeholders and members of the fishing community in the south-east of Ireland.
Cunniffe added: “The four new sites approved today represent the next generation of offshore wind energy projects.
“However, critical to building the supply-chain for them is ensuring Ireland’s first phase of offshore wind projects, which are applying for planning permission this year, get built by the end of the decade.
“These six projects, known collectively as the Phase One projects, are the only ones which can be generating power by 2030. Ensuring their delivery, and in doing so laying the foundation for Irish energy independence, must be a top priority for the next government.”