The Irish government has approved a new development framework for the next phase of offshore wind.
Phase 2, which will follow from the current 4.4GW of Phase 1 sites bidding in the debut offshore wind auction, will be an “accelerated work programme which will focus on near term delivery based on technology with proven scalability in other jurisdictions”, according to Energy Department DECC.
The process will be plan-led “exclusively” procuring “a set volume of offshore wind capacity for development within individual Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Designated Areas”, as first revealed by subscriber-only reNEWS on 23 February.
Sites will be located off the south and south-east coast, with one 700MW project and two 350MW schemes in the mix, based on grid availability identified by transmission system operator Eirgrid.
A second offshore auction for development rights to the projects will launch by the end of 2023 and capacity is due online by 2030, according to Energy Department DECC led by Energy Minister Eamon Ryan (pictured).
“For the avoidance of doubt, all Phase 2 auctions will exclusively seek to procure offshore wind capacity located within ORE Designated Areas, including potential additional future auctions on the East or West coast should additional grid capacity be identified by EirGrid following completion of Phase 1,” said officials.
However, Wind Energy Ireland has warned the policy, published this morning, will undermine efforts to achieve the targets set for offshore wind energy in the Climate Action Plan.
WEI pointed out the plan contains of two major changes by introducing a requirement that all future offshore wind farms must be built in Designated Marine Areas which have yet to be identified and may not be for 18-24 months.
Second, it proposes that future offshore wind farms will not connect to points on land but to offshore substations to be designed and built by EirGrid, something never done by the company before.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “This is a radical change in policy from Government that has created massive levels of uncertainty among international investors and the global supply-chain.
“They are gambling that State agencies can identify Designated Marine Areas quickly. Unfortunately, our experience is that those agencies are grossly under-resourced and will struggle to deliver in time unless the right people with the right skills are put to work on it as soon as possible.
“Our members have been working for years to deliver the projects Ireland needs only for the rules to change, without warning, in the middle of the process. We are effectively being told to stop developing offshore wind energy and wait for further decisions at a point when we have no time to lose.”