Developer Simply Blue Energy has started early stage development work for an up-to-1GW floating offshore wind farm off County Cork, Ireland.
The company has applied to the Irish Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage to begin gathering site data for a project called Emerald.
The Emerald project is located 35km from shore and is near the Kinsale gas field which is currently being decommissioned.
The development will deploy Principle Power’s WindFloat technology in water depths of around 85 to 90 metres.
Simply Blue said it is planning a staged built out for the project, starting with a pre-commercial array of approximately 100MW.
Simply Blue Energy managing director Sam Roch-Perks said: “Ireland has massive unrealised potential for offshore wind energy production, particularly on the south and west coasts, and state of the art floating wind technology is the key to unlocking that potential.
“With a sea area 10 times that of our land mass, we have a chance to catch up and become a leader in offshore wind energy production both in Europe and globally, allowing us to become the ‘Green Gulf’ of renewable energy.”
The developer has not announced delivery years for the project but said Emerald will help Ireland hit a new 2030 offshore wind deployment target of 5GW.
“In Ireland, offshore wind energy production and cuts in greenhouse gas emissions have been given renewed focus,” said Val Cummins, who leads Simply Blue’s Ireland team.
“Innovative and ambitious offshore wind energy projects such as this are vital to help us meet our goals and ensure our children benefit from a sustainable future”.
Simply Blue Energy earlier this year partnered with French energy giant Total on the 100MW Erebus floating offshore wind farm which is to be built 45km off south west Wales.