North Channel Wind has submitted a draft marine licence application to the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for permission to carry out surveys for its Northern Irish 1GW floater in the Irish Sea.
It has also finished a geotechnical survey for the development off the coasts of Antrim and north Down.
“Our initial and voluntary consultations indicate a high level of support for the offshore wind project,” said project director Niamh Kenny.
“This is based on a broader appreciation that the climate emergency is upon us and that we need to rapidly transition from reliance on fossil fuels and embrace the new technologies which will provide emissions free and reliable electricity.”
A series of consultations were conducted along Northern Ireland’s east coast from Carnlough to Bangor and more are expected in the coming months. Offshore and onshore scoping is under way to identify possible landing sites for cabling to shore and grid connection, as are designs for a new substation.
In addition, SBM Offshore, the company backing North Channel Wind, invited industry insiders to witness the final stages of construction of floating wind turbines at the PGL shipyard in Marseille earlier this month.
“While progress is good there are a number of risks ahead not least the lack of an assembly whose support we need for legislative purposes,” said Kenny.
“Offshore wind requires a new connection policy which cannot proceed without legislation, nor can we provide a decommissioning policy for the wind turbines without legislation.”
North Channel Wind is appealing to seabed owner the Crown Estate to make leases available as soon as possible. Kenny said a competitive leasing round is needed so investors can quickly determine clear pathways for their investment.
North Channel Wind is pursuing a timeline which would see the wind turbines begin supply to the Northern Ireland grid in 2030. This would be in time to meet the ambitious NI target of 80% of electricity from renewable sources, which was set by the Assembly in 2022Offshore wind is seen as a vital component in helping to achieve the targets.