Cork researcher: Offshore wind can power our nation

Offshore wind (OW) in Ireland

Ireland has access to a huge offshore wind resource and it will be key to decarbonizing our economic.

The Government’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy (OWIS), “Powering Prosperity,” expects the OW sector to deliver up to 5,000 jobs by 2030. Achieving 2050 targets could be worth €38 billion to the Irish economy.

The OW sector could enable energy export markets and ensure Ireland’s energy security. However, there is currently only one operational OW farm in Irish waters, the 25MW Arklow Bank wind farm.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan has established targets to install 5GW of OW by 2030 with an additional 2GW, dedicated to green hydrogen production/other non-grid uses. Ireland aims to deliver 20GW by 2040, with 37GW by 2050.

In 2023, 3GW has been procured from four fixed OW projects in the Irish Sea off the east coast under ORESS1. The Celtic Sea off the Waterford coastline has been earmarked for the development of fixed OW in the Government’s draft Designated Marine Area Plan (DMAP). It is expected that the next ORESS scheme and DMAP will allow Ireland to reach 2030 targets through fixed OW on the east and south coasts.

However, Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) technologies will be essential to achieve future ambitions. Most of Ireland’s OW resources are located off the south and west coasts, where water depths (>60m) can no longer host fixed bottom structures. Future DMAPs are expected to cover FLOW development in the Celtic Sea (off the Cork coastline), and in the Atlantic Ocean (off Kerry and Clare). 

Extreme weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean make technology survival and accessing sites very difficult and expensive. 

While still having excellent wind resources, the Celtic Sea is less dynamic and more accessible, making it the obvious choice for initial FLOW development.

What could this mean for Cork?

In Cork, the Chamber of Commerce asserts that OW presents an enormous opportunity ‘for a whole new industrial sector to emerge in Cork Harbour, not seen since the IDA designated the Ringaskiddy area as a cluster for pharmaceuticals in the 1970s.’ They point out Cork harbour’s unique selling points for the OW sector including:

The Port of Cork (POC) is geographically poised to become a hub for installing and maintaining fixed and floating offshore wind on the south coast and beyond.

Cork already has an existing supply-chain of marine operators with extensive experience supporting offshore activities e.g. the Kinsale gas field.

University College Cork (UCC), the Munster Technological University, and the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), provide undergraduate and post graduate courses and graduates in key areas such as engineering, marine science, supply chain management, nautical science etc.

Cork hosts world class research infrastructure, including the LIR National Ocean Energy Test Facility in UCC’s Beaufort Building, Ringaskiddy. UCC also recently won €4.2 million to develop a 200kW FLOW platform deployed in Cork harbour. This will be a globally unique test infrastructure aimed at addressing knowledge gaps and unlocking the potential of FLOW in Irish coastal waters. The NMCI also has world-class facilities for simulating deployment scenarios to de-risk operations.

Challenges and next steps

This cluster of infrastructure, research and skills make Cork ideally placed to support the fixed and floating OW industry.

In May 2023 the POC published its “Masterplan 2050” that provides a framework to coordinate port planning in the short to long-term including developing the port as a major offshore renewable energy hub.

However, challenges have emerged, moderating expectations and timelines for FLOW development.

While the Government’s OWIS envisages a FLOW demonstrator site, there are still no definitive plans and timelines for this or future commercial FLOW developments. Without a pipeline of FLOW projects to exploit most of our OW resources, potential developers have been left in limbo.

Uncertainty in the regulatory system has previously prompted Equinor to withdraw from the Irish sector. This continued uncertainty could be damaging to Ireland, and Cork’s ambitions.

Grid infrastructure upgrades are also a key issue with works focused on the east coast, but little progress expected for the south and west in the near-term, adding to uncertainty for developers.

The POC has already secured planning permission for quay extensions. However, a funding gap of €70million and the withdrawal of the Doyle Shipping Group from Cork harbour development plans have dealt significant blows to progress.

For Cork to have a significant share in Ireland’s OW sector and for Ireland to achieve its OW deployment targets beyond 2030, three key elements are needed:

DMAPs to facilitate a pipeline of demonstrator and commercial FLOW projects on the south coast.

A solution to the POC development funding gap.

Grid infrastructure upgrades to support south coast FLOW development.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fiona Devoy McAuliffe (Research Fellow in MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine coordinated by the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at UCC.