Atkins to develop masterplan for energy hub in County Galway

Údarás Na Gaeltachta, the regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) regions of Ireland, has assigned Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, to develop the plan. The hub would service the needs of both floating and fixed wind developments off the west coast of Ireland, potentially providing vital supporting infrastructure to build more renewable energy in the region and accelerate Ireland’s commitments to build at least 30GW of offshore floating wind power off the Atlantic coast by 2050.

The masterplan will involve planning the port development, carrying out an economic assessment and detailing the engineering and logistical requirements - all with the vision of achieving net zero operations at the port in mind. The masterplan will also consider the surrounding environment, existing infrastructure and local community needs arising from the introduction of this industry to the local area. It is estimated that the hub will directly create 900 jobs in the local region.

Údarás CEO, Micheál Ó hÉanaigh said “The development of Ros an Mhíl as an offshore wind energy hub is likely to have a profound impact, not just on the economy of the Gaeltacht regions of Conamara and the Aran Islands, but also on Ireland’s ability to lessen its energy dependence.”