WindEurope Urges Ireland to Speed Up Offshore Wind Plans

Offshore wind will play a significant role in Ireland’s decarbonisation, as described in the National Energy & Climate Plan. The country wants to develop 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 while also reducing its total carbon emissions by 51% by 2030 compared to 2018. A new government bill also commits Ireland to climate neutrality by 2050.

The planned offshore wind farms Moneypoint and Codling can help the country reach these targets. But the Irish Government needs to speed up the planning and permitting process for offshore developments. There are still gaps in the regulations around planning, consenting and grid connection, WindEurope warns. The pathway for building offshore wind farms is longer than onshore on average and if the country wants to reach its 2030 target it needs to act quicker.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “It’s great to see that Ireland is starting to tap its huge offshore wind potential. These two new offshore projects will bring large volumes renewable energy and they’ll create many new jobs. The Irish Government has set itself a commendably ambitious target of 5 GW offshore wind by 2030. This is achievable, but they’ll need to speed up the planning processes, and the sooner they can do this, the better.”