International energy company Irving Oil and developer Simply Blue Group will explore developing an integrated renewable energy hub at the Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery in Ireland.
The Whitegate Refinery is the country’s only refinery and a critical part of the country’s energy infrastructure.
Under the new memorandum of understanding (MoU), potential opportunities include the production of green hydrogen and its use in the production of electrofuels for local and international markets.
Irving Oil and Simply Blue Group will also be assessing ways to integrate the significant planned offshore wind developments around Ireland into this renewable energy hub, including Simply Blue Group’s planned Emerald Floating Wind project, to be located approximately 50km south of Cork, Ireland.
Irving Oil has set targets to achieve a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as well as actively work towards a net-zero objective by 2050.
“At Irving Oil, we are committed to leadership through the energy transition and engaging in strong partnerships is a key part of our strategy as we all work toward a lower carbon future,” says Irving Oil President Ian Whitcomb.
“The work we are starting with Simply Blue Group is another example of our energy transition strategy coming to life. Bringing together a key piece of energy infrastructure in Ireland – the Whitegate refinery – with Simply Blue Group’s global leadership in offshore wind development can create compelling new opportunities in Ireland.”
Simply Blue Group CEO Sam Roch Perks said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Simply Blue Group, and we are excited to be working with Irving Oil as we jointly investigate the potential development of an integrated renewable energy hub at the Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery.
“This is a potential game changer for Ireland. It presents the opportunity to become a pioneer and leader in e-Fuels, a new industry sector that will prove vital in the fight against climate change.”
He continued: “The recent announcement of 2GW of green hydrogen from offshore wind by Minister Ryan strengthens our confidence in Ireland’s intention to enable this sector. Integrating large scale floating offshore wind farms – another huge opportunity for Ireland – with large onshore e-fuel production facilities also offers many advantages in efficiently addressing challenges associated with intermittency, energy storage and system balancing.”