Dec 23, 2021

THE Irish arm of Norway’s State-owned Statkraft has been granted a foreshore licence by the government here to progress plans for a €1bn offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea that is expected to be able to generate up to 500MW of electricity. The proposed wind farm – called the North Irish Sea Array – would be located between 7km and 17km off the coasts of Dublin, Meath and Louth. A foreshore licence was required by Statkraft so that it could undertake marine surveys at the proposed site in order to determine the optimum location and design of the planned wind farm. Those surveys will include geophysical, geotechnical and ecological surveys. The North Irish Sea Array (NISA) has been planned by various owners of the project since at least 2009, when it was being developed by Gaelectric. Element Power acquired the project from Gaelectric in early 2018. Later that same year, Statkraft acquired Element Power’s Irish and UK operations, including the North Irish Sea Array project. The Clogherhead Fishermen’s Association initially said on foot on a public consultation regarding the application for a foreshore licence that it had no objection to that application. However, it subsequently submitted further communication saying that it objects to any further work being carried out on the project in its current form. The association claimed the wind farm would have a “disastrous impact” on the local fishing community. Statkraft reiterated in its own replies to public submissions that the application was for site investigation works only. Business Newsletter Sign Up “We recognise the importance of fishing to the local coastal communities and we are committed to developing a co-existence model for the project going forward in so far as it is within the power of NISA to do so,” it added. The government has set a target of 5 gigawatts of power being generated by offshore wind farms off the Irish coast by 2030. Last week, the government’s Marine Area Planning bill was passed by the Oireachtas. It will replace existing legislation. The new act will streamline the application process for consents and planning, helping to accelerate the deployment of offshore renewable energy projects. Related topics