Urgent government action is required over the next twelve months to ensure that there is enough time to build the 5GW of offshore wind Ireland needs to meet its 2030 target, Wind Energy Ireland Offshore 2021 will hear today.
WEI chief executive Noel Cunniffe (pictured) will tell 400 delegates to Ireland’s annual offshore wind energy conference held at the Kilashee Hotel in Naas that time is running out to deliver the 7-10 projects that are needed.
Wind Energy Ireland will also publish a new report, which tracks the government’s progress on the delivery of offshore wind energy and sets out a series of urgent recommendations to accelerate the development of offshore renewables.
“We have the resources, the technology and the expertise. We know the target is achievable. But these projects will take time to build and we are fast running out of time,” Cunniffe will say.
“For us to deliver the offshore wind energy we need to decarbonise Ireland’s electricity supply we need a robust marine planning system, a much stronger electricity grid and a firm date for the first offshore renewable electricity auction.”
The report, ‘Twelve months to deliver offshore wind energy’, sets out a series of seven urgent actions for Government, the system operators and other State agencies including that the Maritime Area Planning Bill be passed before the end of the year.
It also seeks for the Bill to be amended to allow wind farms to adopt a flexible design approach and to ensure enough projects can apply for planning to reach our 2030 target.
Resources also need to be invested in critical Government departments and State agencies like An Bord Pleanála, National Parks & Wildlife Service, EirGrid, ESB Networks and the CRU to enable them to help deliver the target set in the Programme for Government, according to the report.
A firm date must meanwhile be given for the first offshore wind energy auction, which had been due this year, to ensure projects will have the contracts they need to move to construction and to set a clear milestone for the Irish supply chain to work towards.
“We must acknowledge that over the previous 18 months our Government has had to deal with an unprecedented healthcare crisis and to coordinate our response to a global pandemic,” Cunniffe will say.
“In many cases the relevant Government departments and State agencies responsible for enabling the development of offshore wind energy were – and in some cases remain – chronically short of staff and resources but there has still been progress.
“The National Marine Planning Framework is complete. The Maritime Area Planning Bill is clearly the Government’s top legislative priority. The model for our offshore electricity grid has been identified.
“But this does not change the reality that even as progress accelerates, time is quickly running out, and we are seeing a loss of confidence throughout the international supply chain that Ireland will get the key policies and legislation in place to meet its 2030 targets.
“The next twelve months will be absolutely decisive for offshore wind and our 2030 renewable energy targets. We need to see our Government, politicians, departments and State agencies step up the pace.”