The Irish Wind Energy Association has warned that more action is needed over the next two years if Ireland is to reach its 2030 climate action targets.
The organisation this morning published a report ‘Building Offshore Wind’, showing how the Programme for Government’s target of 5GW of offshore wind energy can be met and highlighting electricity transmission constraints as the biggest barrier to development.
Work is needed to develop the east coast transmission system, the organisation said, pointing to Grid Operator EirGrid’s estimates that it can accommodate only 1.5GW of wind energy.
Irish Wind Energy Association chief executive David Connolly said: “Our members will not build wind farms to sit idle off our coast. We must get the power to shore.
“Industry needs to know that EirGrid and ESB Networks will have the resources they need to develop the grid and have the confidence it will be reinforced in time.”
Other recommendations to government include a call for the enaction of the Marine Planning and Development Management (MPDM) Bill – which creates an offshore planning system – by the end of Q1 2021.
Clear statutory deadlines for decisions on wind farm planning applications should be set while An Bord Pleanála needs to be provided with the staff and additional expertise to process applications promptly, it added.
It added that the first offshore wind energy auction should be held as soon as possible in 2021 with more planned soon to ensure enough new contracts are issued by 2025 to provide 5GW of power.
Connolly added: “If a project does not have planning permission by the end of 2025 it will not be built by the end of the decade. It is as simple as that, which means today, we are on course to fail unless immediate action is taken.
“We have the pipeline to deliver our 2030 target with more than 16GW of offshore projects at some stage of development off the coast of Ireland.
“But we do not have a planning regime for offshore wind, there is no system for projects to connect to the electricity grid and no way for them to sell their power on the market.
Some progress is already visible with the MPDM Bill starting its way through the Oireachtas and commitments from Minister Ryan that an offshore auction will take place next year, the IWEA added.
“The scale of what we are being asked to accomplish is unlike anything ever done in Ireland before,” Connolly added.
“Building 5GW of offshore wind energy in ten years – creating an entirely new industry from next to nothing – requires urgent, rapid and coordinated policy development.”