French energy giant EDF enters partnership to develop two Irish floating wind projects

Reuters

French power giant EDF has entered into a joint venture partnership with Irish developer Simply Blue Group to develop two wind farm projects off the Irish coast, the groups said in a press release on Wednesday.

The projects are the Western Star floating wind farm on the west coast with a total capacity up to 1.4 gigawatts (GW) and the Emerald floating wind farm in the south that will have a total capacity up to 1.3 GW.

The projects are expected to generate enough electricity together to power approximately 2 million homes, the report said.

A merger clearance is expected for the partnership in the coming months.

"The partnership is ideally placed to deliver for Phase 3 of offshore wind in Ireland. This is key to kick-starting floating offshore wind, which will have a transformational positive impact on Ireland's maritime and energy landscape," project manager Val Cummins said.