Planning Submitted For $1 Billion Offshore Windfarm West Of Ireland

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Planning has been submitted for a 450-megawatt (MW) offshore windfarm off the coast of Galway in the west of Ireland.

Owner and developer Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta (FST) (Galway, Ireland) is seeking permission for the 30-turbine Sceirde Rocks windfarm, which will be located in the Atlantic Ocean 5 to 11 kilometers from land. The US$1.1 billion project, submitted to the state's planning body An Bord Pleanála, is the first proposed offshore project on Ireland's west coast and, if developed, will have the capacity to power 350,000 homes and offset more than half a million tonnes of CO2 a year.

Michael Cloherty, stakeholder manager for Sceirde Rocks Windfarm said: "This planning application marks the culmination of around three years of surveying, data analysis and community engagement activity. We have worked closely with the local community to design a project which we believe will deliver on their needs and expectations and we are grateful to everyone who met with our team and engaged with us throughout this process. I'm extremely excited about the transformation that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity could bring to our local communities in terms of jobs, investment and direct community funding -- offshore wind has the potential to be a hugely important part of our collective future."

Subject to consent being granted, construction is currently expected to begin in 2026 with first generation of electricity from 2030. The 30 turbines will have a tip height of up to 325 meters. Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta was created by Corio Generation, part of Macquarie Asset Management (Sydney, Australia). Corio has approximately 25 gigawatts (GW) of projects in development around the world.

Ireland has an ambitious offshore wind strategy, starting with a 2030 target of 5 GW of grid-connected offshore wind plus an additional 2 GW of non-grid connected offshore wind in development. By 2040, it wants its grid-connected capacity to be 20 GW, rising to 37 GW by 2050. The country held its first-ever offshore wind auction last year. Four projects with a combined capacity of 3 GW were awarded and the average price of the winning bids was 86 euro ($92) per megawatt-hour (MWh), which was much lower than expected. Sceirde Rocks was one of the four winning projects. The others are North Irish Sea Array (Statkraft, 500 MW), Dublin Array (RWE and Saorgus Energy, up to 850 MW) and Codling Wind Park (EDF and Fred Olsen, up to 1,450 MW).

Offshore wind is in its infancy in Ireland and despite wind supplying roughly a third of the country's power in 2024, onshore windfarms were responsible. Last year, Ireland passed the 5,000-MW mark of onshore wind, more than halfway to its 2030 target of 9,000 MW, according to Wind Energy Ireland. However, expansion in the sector is hampered by a weak electricity grid. Noel Cunniffe, chief executive officer of Wind Energy Ireland, said: "Last year was the worst on record for the amount of wind power lost. Every time a wind turbine is shut down because the grid can't take the electricity it means higher bills and more carbon emissions. Making the electricity grid strong enough to accommodate increasing volumes of renewable energy is essential. Building out our energy storage infrastructure is also vital so that we can save excess renewable energy for when we need it."

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