Up to 70GW of offshore wind could be generated off the west coast of Ireland to make the country a net exporter of power and provide a huge boost to the local supply chain, according to a new study.
The report, by specialist geotechnical engineering consultancy GDG, found the Atlantic Seas have massive untapped potential mainly in floating wind, including the production of green hydrogen.
Researchers concluded that deep water port Shannon Foynes, which commissioned the work, can play a leading role in supporting the build out of the sector.
The report also identifies the potential to create between 10,000 and 20,000 jobs in manufacturing and a further 10,000 industry jobs arising from four distinct supply chain opportunities.
Manufacturing could also extend to the preparation and export of component parts further afield to the East coast of USA and into European developments, both onshore and offshore.
However, while floating wind presents an opportunity for Ireland to become a world leader, investment is needed in infrastructure, said researchers.
A large constraint will be the ability of Ireland to connect this resource to the national grid as well as export the excess to other markets.
“To facilitate taking a lead in the global market, Ireland needs to apply significant investment in research & development to solve this market barrier along with looking to reduce the cost of floating wind technology.”
Shannon Foynes Port chief executive Pat Keating (pictured, left alongside GDG’s Paul Doherty) said: “This report quantifies for the first time the unique floating offshore wind opportunity that exists for Ireland and not just for this region.
“The mix of our world-class wind resources, the natural infrastructure here for a global manufacturing and industry base and climate change adds up to what is an unprecedented opportunity that we must capitalise on. There is already significant interest in this from global energy players and we would anticipate generating a gigawatt of energy by the turn of the next decade.”