Offshore Wind Report eolas magazine issue 50

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

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Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

Climate Minister Eamon Ryan TD: Significant milestones on offshore journey Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges facing the world and our shared future. The need to combat the devastating effects it has on our environment, society and economy is urgent, writes Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD. We are now seeing a significant call to action, especially here in Ireland, to introduce new measures and practical solutions to help combat climate change and transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy.

The Government released a new Climate Action Plan in October 2021, which sets out a course of action to reduce Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions and make Ireland carbon 92

neutral by 2050. As part of the Plan, the government has committed to increasing our generation of electricity from renewable sources. We need to increase this proportion to up to 80 per cent by 2030 to meet the set targets.

To achieve this, we must switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as wind energy. One of our first milestones is to reach 5GW of offshore renewable energy.

electricity in Ireland was first introduced

The use of wind turbines to generate

offshore wind energy is enormous.

with the commission of first commercial wind farm in Bellacorrick, County Mayo in 1992. Since then, significant progress in technology, policy, and legislation has laid the ground for Ireland to become one of the leading producers of wind energy in Europe. With Ireland’s maritime area seven times the size of its landmass and our location at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, the potential for

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

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Until recently, much of this offshore capacity was out of our reach as no legislative basis existed to regulate the use of our maritime area outside the 12 nautical mile coastal zone provided for in the Foreshore Act (1933). However, with the enactment of the Marine Area Planning (MAP) Bill last December, we not only have a legislative basis to harness this untapped potential, but also to manage and protect our maritime area. The comprehensive and coherent marine planning regime laid out in the MAP Act also provides clarity to developers on the offshore wind consenting system for developments in our maritime area.

The establishment of a new Maritime Area Consent (MAC) regime is a main feature of the MAP Act and will be a first step in a new and streamlined planning process. Developers assessed for and awarded a MAC can proceed to apply for development permission (planning permission), where they will undergo environmental assessment.

The MAC regime will assess the viability of applicants in key areas, including financial and technical competency, in advance of developers proceeding to environmental studies. The robust assessment of potential offshore developers who apply for a MAC will ensure that only the most viable offshore projects will have the opportunity to apply for development permission from An Bord Pleanála.

ensuring the most viable projects to be operational by 2030 can enter the new planning system.

After this first batch of MACs, responsibility will be handed over to a new agency, the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA). MARA is of the highest priority for Government and is scheduled to be established and operational from 2023.

Projects granted a MAC will be eligible to enter an auction-based scheme which invites renewable electricity projects to bid for capacity and receive a guaranteed price for the electricity they generate. This is the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), and its purpose is to ensure the best price is obtained for the consumer. At least three offshore auctions are planned for this decade, and by holding these auctions periodically, we will be able to take advantage of the latest technologies, potentially generating energy more efficiently at a lower cost.

Projects looking for support under the new RESS will need to make Community Benefit Fund contributions at a fixed rate of €2/MWh of energy produced. This will generate significant funds which will be available to benefit coastal communities. My department is currently finalising the terms and conditions which will define how this will work.

My department recently ran a public consultation on how the second batch of projects will be selected to enter the new consenting system with the aim of

Extensive work is being carried out elsewhere to facilitate the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy (ORE) in Ireland. Both EirGrid

As Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, I will have the responsibility of inviting MAC applications from an initial batch of offshore renewable energy projects, known as the ‘relevant projects’. The grant of the first MACs this year will represent a significant milestone in realising our ambitious climate targets of 2030 5GW target and a long-term plan of a potential of at least 30GW of floating wind thereafter.

and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities are implementing actions to ensure the electricity grid can support the planned offshore capacity. The recently published Port Policy Statement sets out a multiport approach to the roll-out of the ORE industry in Ireland and will be instrumental in increasing flexibility, reducing costs and delays and derisking the construction phase of ORE projects.

The development of the offshore sector will also generate job opportunities in coastal areas and provide supply chain opportunities for local SMEs. Meanwhile, work is proceeding on a new Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP II) to identify areas most suitable for post-2030 deployment of wind, wave, and tidal technologies, while considering the need to protect marine biodiversity.

The establishment of offshore wind in Ireland is a significant undertaking, involving action across many areas of government. Work is well underway to deliver significant benefits not only in the short term, but also in securing our future for generations to come.

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Powering change in Irish offshore ambitions: Lessons learned from ScotWind

SSE Renewables is building more offshore wind than any other company in the world right now.

Maria Ryan, Director of Development at SSE Renewables, says Ireland must follow the ScotWind model and embrace real ambition in developing the next phase of offshore wind.

The end of 2021 was notable for several significant milestones in the establishment of Ireland’s offshore wind sector. The first of these was the passing of the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Bill through all stages of the Oireachtas, enacting legislation which will provide the process to obtain planning consent for future offshore wind farms.

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In another milestone, the Government engaged with the renewable energy industry to get feedback on how they would like to see the first offshore auction (ORESS1) designed and operated.

And looking beyond a landmark ORESS1 auction for the first phase of offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea, government and industry have now started to jointly explore how we can progress our ambitions for the next round of offshore wind development off our island, with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) launching a

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consultation on offshore wind Phase 2 in December.

The Phase 2 consultation looks at a range of issues with the aim of defining how we want to set the sector up to achieve the Irish Government’s ambition of delivering 5GW of offshore wind by 2030 and when should we take certain steps so that ambition can be met.

At SSE Renewables, we’ve been steadily progressing our two Phase 2 projects: Braymore Wind Park off the coast of County Louth and Celtic Sea Array off the Waterford coast. We are targeting a minimum generation capacity of 800MW at each offshore site which together would be capable of powering a combined total of over 1.6 million homes and offsetting almost two billion kilos of carbon annually. These projects would make a significant contribution to Ireland’s 2030 offshore wind target, but to be able to do so we will require complete confidence and clarity in the new regime under which they will be delivered.

We know from the MAP legislation that Phase 2 projects will need to wait until the establishment

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

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SSE Renewables, one of the big ScotWind winners, says the lessons from ScotWind can accelerate and maximise the delivery of Ireland's Phase 2 offshore projects.

of a new consenting authority, the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), before they can secure seabed and begin their consenting journey which isn’t likely until 2023. This time horizon to MARA gives government and industry an opportunity to look overseas to see what lessons we can learn from other successful markets.

The Phase 2 consultation also asks respondents to consider at what stage competing applications for the same seabed should be assessed. These assessments will decide who gets to progress with a project in a particular area. SSE Renewables fully supports DECC’s proposal for a competitive Maritime Area

“As a society in the midst of a climate crisis, is settling for 5GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 really enough?”

Consent (MAC) assessment early in the process which would allocate seabed to developers. This will avoid multiple projects undertaking advanced development in overlapping seabed areas, something which would ultimately push costs up for the Irish offshore wind sector.

ScotWind success

At SSE Renewables we’re building more offshore wind than any other company in the world right now, and we’re building that offshore wind in UK waters. This includes the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea, as well as Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm, the 1.1GW Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm in the Firth of Forth. Our future development pipeline includes Scotland’s next global-scale opportunity, the 4.1GW Berwick Bank super-project.

In recent months, Scotland has pushed new offshore ambition into overdrive. The muchanticipated ScotWind seabed leasing process run by Crown Estate Scotland was one of the most hotly contested competitions that the global offshore wind sector has ever seen.

Bidders from around the globe alongside local developers such as my own company lined up to bid for seabed rights to develop fixed as well as new floating offshore wind farms, with up to 10GW of new generation up for grabs.

The results, when they were published in January, delivered a power punch to that original 10GW target, and saw lease option agreements awarded to 17 bidders to deliver an eye-watering 25GW of clean, green electricity; enough to power tens of millions of homes, and power the expanding electrification of the Scottish economy.

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The Phase 2 consultation does provide the pathway to help deliver Ireland’s 5GW next generation of offshore wind and reaching this milestone is welcome.

can be achieved when policy makers lift the limits from ambition.

It’s become one of the most exciting moments in the story of renewable energy. Little wonder Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP 4

However, as a society in the midst of a climate crisis and which needs to challenge itself to do more, is settling for 5GW by the end of the decade really enough?

If we look across the Irish Sea to our nearest neighbour, the UK, we can easily observe what

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hailed the ScotWind opportunity as truly historic, and that the results made headlines globally.

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For our part at SSE Renewables, we’re delighted to have been awarded the rights, along with our ScotWind partners Marubeni Corporation and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, to develop a new giant floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea capable of delivering at least 2.6GW of Scotland’s newest ambition. When complete our ScotWind project will become one of the world’s first and largest floating offshore wind farms and will put SSE Renewables well on target towards meeting our goal of delivering over a quarter of the UK’s 2030 offshore wind target.

Ireland next As a relatively small market delivering large-scale ambitions, Scotland’s model points a potential way forward for Ireland. But it also demonstrates the level of competition that Ireland, as a market, is up against in terms of global competition to attract the required investment, skills, and equipment needed to deliver offshore wind farms of scale here.

We need to take the lessons we can from ScotWind so we can help accelerate and maximise the delivery of Phase 2 projects as quickly as possible. In our experience, it can take 10 years to develop an offshore project and while there has been a huge amount of progress, we only have eight years left to meet the 2030 targets. So, we need to ensure we continue with pace and resource sufficiently to ensure we deliver.

ScotWind presents learnings which are crucial in how you design a successfully functioning offshore wind market. The process put a cap on bid prices to avoid passing on overly burdensome costs to the consumer as well as to avoid leases being awarded purely based on how deep a bidders’ pockets are. To differentiate between applicants, they considered criteria such as experience and track record of delivery. This was to ensure that those awarded seabed have a strong chance of successfully delivering decarbonisation at scale within a given timeframe.

This model would work well in Ireland to minimise cost to the public whilst ensuring the maximum chance of delivery to meet government targets.

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Getting it right The speed at which the MAP Bill passed through all stages of the Oireachtas can only be commended. It’s essential now that we see the same level of purpose and enthusiasm ploughed into the establishment of MARA over this year and next, into the issuing of grid offers for Phase 1 projects, and into kicking off the first ORESS so we can begin getting turbines in Irish waters.

We must see political will and sufficiently resourced administrative action more greatly aligned on the important goal of delivery.

“We need to learn from ScotWind so we can accelerate and maximise the delivery of Phase 2 projects as quickly as possible” ScotWind provides a blueprint for Phase 2 in Ireland and it’s fantastic to see DECC consulting early on the model for the Phase 2 process.

Some of the features they suggest make eminent sense to bring certainty to the Irish offshore sector, such as running a competitive MAC process akin to ScotWind.

We should also take inspiration from ScotWind in the scale and pace of the ambition. Where the State can reduce risk and increase the likelihood of those awarded seabed ultimately delivering projects, it must. Where it can implement processes as quickly as possible to identify credible developers, and then provide them with the seabed needed to deliver its 5GW target at a minimum, it must. And where it can begin lifting the limit to our current ambition so that the State can create a market that stimulates a global appetite to invest here, it must.

If it does, then the Irish State will be all the better for it and will fast-track itself to the leadership position in offshore wind which it has the potential to become. In doing so, we’ll save money for consumers, help grow local supply chains, and set Ireland on course to achieve ambitious levels of decarbonisation and take our place on the global offshore wind stage.

W: sserenewables.com/offshoreinireland

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

Ireland moves closer to first offshore auction

In October 2021, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications opened a consultation on the holding of ORESS 1, with the aim of engaging stakeholders and gathering feedback on the terms and conditions of the auction. The consultation closed on 6 December 2021.

The terms and conditions of ORESS 1 were also issued in October, in the weeks directly preceding the opening of the consultation. Due to the scale and natural of typical offshore wind farming, initial auction such as ORESS 1 are required in order to support the long-term potential of the technology. This approach received European state aid clearance in 2020 with the holding of the RESS 1 auction.

Speaking upon the launch of the consultation, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD said: “I welcome the publication of the draft terms and conditions of the first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1) for consultation. The growth of offshore wind energy will play a major role in securing a supply of sustainable electricity for homes and businesses all over Ireland and will allow us to electrify

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With the passage of the Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021, Ireland is moving closer to the holding of its first offshore wind auction under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme, known as ORESS 1. sectors such as heat and transport. It will also play a key role in meeting our climate goals, to reduce overall emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.”

Plans are afoot for the State to hold at least three offshore auctions, but due to the long development timelines of offshore wind projects, only the first two of these are expected to contribute to the target of 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 as a means of contributing to an overall goal of 80 per cent of electricity coming from renewables.

With the passage of the Maritime Area Planning Bill, attention will now turn to the fledgling Maritime Area Consent process and the issuing of such consents to phase one offshore projects.

Offshore grid connection assessment process must also be established, and these are being progressed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

The State has a sea area of 490,000km2, approximately seven times its landmass. There is long-term potential for 70GW of ocean energy in this area, through wind, wave and tidal power, all within 100km of the coastline.

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Time running out for offshore wind targets

By the end of 2022, we will know whether the Government’s target of 5,000MW of offshore wind energy by the end of 2030 is achievable, writes Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland.

It is clear that, right now, we are not on track and that the emissions savings required from offshore wind in the proposed carbon budgets are unlikely to materialise.

There has been progress. The National Marine Planning Framework is complete. The Maritime Area Planning Act was passed by the Oireachtas just before Christmas. The model for our offshore electricity grid has been identified.

But this does not change the fact that we are losing time and that, today, we are less likely to hit our 2030 target than we were when the original Climate Action Plan was published.

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The reality remains that the relevant government departments and state agencies responsible for enabling the development of offshore wind energy are chronically short of staff and resources while our industry is increasingly short of time.

The passage of the Maritime Area Planning Act was a significant achievement but it is still true that, based on the conversations I have every week with companies in the international supply chain, there is diminishing confidence that Ireland’s 2030 targets are achievable.

The concerns being highlighted by our members typically focus on two key areas which we must get right: grid and planning.

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Electricity grid Our Phase One projects, which we hope to see connected in 2027-2028, urgently need certainty on how the grid connection process will work and the timelines that will be involved. The policy eventually implemented by the CRU must be clear and legally robust.

Our members have a wealth of experience in this area from markets all over Europe. EirGrid should work closely with industry and use this experience to ensure we can construct and connect these projects as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible, ultimately bringing the best value to the consumer.

It is also important for EirGrid to work closely with our members as they update the Shaping Our Electricity Future strategy, which was published last year. While it is a step in the right direction, this will not deliver the grid infrastructure we will need to cut carbon emissions as required by the Climate Change Advisory Council nor to deliver a net-zero electricity system by 2035.

We cannot decarbonise our electricity supply without delivering the projects EirGrid has announced and supporting them is a litmus test that will tell us who in Ireland is serious about tackling climate change. But we need to go

Arklow Bank wind farm. Credit: GE.

afford for projects to be delayed for years in the courts.

While the Phase One projects are the priority, we must design a grid for the next generation of projects and particularly for the floating wind projects which have the potential to make Ireland a renewable energy superpower.

That is why it is so important to ensure that industry – and government – is confident that An Bord Pleanála has the expertise and the budget to deal with a coming rush of applications for some of the biggest and most complex infrastructure projects we will build in Ireland.

Planning system

That confidence is not in industry today and its absence is particularly worrying when contracts under the first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction will be awarded before planning permission is confirmed.

As we focus our efforts on ensuring we have an electricity grid fit for purpose we must also create a planning system that can process enough applications over the next four years to ensure competitive auctions and, ultimately, 5,000MW of wind power.

Those of our members who struggle to get onshore projects through the Irish planning

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further and particularly identify how we can strengthen the grid on the south and west coast.

Overcoming challenges These are big challenges, but they can be overcome. We know the target can still be

WindFloat being towed away after turbine is installed at Ferrol Outer Harbor, Spain.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Principle Power. Artist: DOCK90.

system are understandably nervous when they consider the challenge of getting far larger and more complex projects through a system that often appears designed to prevent, rather than to enable, development.

The Maritime Area Planning Act provides a good start, but we need to ensure that the secondary legislation and the offshore planning guidelines which will come from the Act provide our projects with a level of post-consent flexibility that makes it practical to develop offshore wind farms in Ireland.

There is also the potential for decisions to be challenged at every stage by means of judicial reviews. People are entitled to justice and to participate in the planning process, but we cannot

For us to deliver we need a much stronger electricity grid, a clear process for connecting projects and a planning system that makes delivery possible.

We will only see this if essential resources are invested in critical government departments and State agencies like An Bord Pleanála, National Parks and Wildlife Service, EirGrid, ESB Networks and the CRU to enable them, to empower us, to deliver the target set in the Programme for Government.

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If our members are obliged, once planning permission has been obtained, to submit a new consent application every time a turbine needs to be moved a few metres or a cable route amended, then these projects will very quickly grind to a halt as planning authorities are overwhelmed.

achieved, but these projects will take time to build, and time is something we are fast running out of.

Together, we can – we must – connect the huge volumes of offshore wind energy that can decarbonise our electricity system and set us on the path to true energy independence.

E: office@windenergyireland.com W: windenergyireland.com

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TEN-E Regulation: No longer oceans apart Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, the TEN-E Regulation. A proposal to revise the TEN-E Regulation was adopted in December 2020 for the purposes of modernising the existing regulation and to fully align it with the Green Deal objectives and was finally agreed following trilogue negotiations between the EU institutions at 5am on 15 December 2021.

In essence, the TEN-E Regulation sets out guidelines for linking the energy infrastructure of EU countries needed to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality objective by 2050 and outlines the process for selecting projects eligible to receive EU funds and policy support.

Philip Lee

Siobhán McCabe

Ireland and Europe must decarbonise energy completely by 2050. Offshore renewable electricity is going to form the backbone of these efforts to decarbonise. In 2020, the EU published its European Offshore Wind Strategy which included the objective to have an installed capacity of 300GW of offshore wind by 2050. That is nearly 55 times the current total installed wind capacity on the island of Ireland which is 5.5GW. Philip Lee, Partner and Executive Chairman, and Siobhán McCabe

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Energy Partner at Philip Lee, write.

Meeting these targets and objectives will require massive scaling up of the development of offshore projects and at the greatest of speed, unparalleled with any past development of other energy technologies.

Ireland has one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. The seas of Ireland have some of the highest wind speeds globally, and more importantly unlike other areas with 100

high wind speeds, the Irish seas are located close to massive centres of consumption, namely mainland Europe.

Irish offshore wind has huge potential.

However, transporting the energy from these offshore wind farms to mainland Europe will be a herculean task and will require the investment of billions of euros in the necessary infrastructure.

A large part of the answer to how this can be achieved is found in the revised

The TEN-E Regulation focuses on projects of common interest (PCIs) which are infrastructure projects considered necessary for delivering on EU objectives in the energy field.

Typically, PCIs involve at least two member states by crossing the border of two or more member states or the project is located on the territory of one member state and has a significant cross-border impact.

However, of great importance to Ireland is the fact that the TEN-E Regulation also includes within its scope projects of mutual interest (PMIs). Essentially PMIs are similar to PCIs, except that they involve projects connecting the EU with third countries, such as in Ireland’s case, the UK. In order to come within its scope, PMIs will need to demonstrate that they bring significant benefits at EU-level. In addition, the third country will need to demonstrate high level of convergence of the EU policy framework and legal enforcement mechanisms to support the overall policy objectives of the EU. The third country must also commit to facilitate a similar timeline for accelerated implementation and other policy support measures as stipulated in the TEN-E Regulation. It will be of fundamental importance to Ireland that the UK is

considered to comply with these third country requirements for the success of PMIs and, at first glance, this appears to be the case. There is no doubt that projects proposed to be developed offshore and not so accredited as PCIs or PMIs will struggle.

Perhaps the most exciting provisions of the TEN-E Regulation are those dealing with the integrated offshore development plans, which will be included in the 10-year network development plans (albeit agreements made under these provisions will be

“The seas of Ireland have some of the highest wind speeds in the world and more importantly, unlike other areas with high wind speeds, the Irish seas are located close to massive centres of consumption, namely mainland Europe. Irish offshore wind has huge potential.” non-binding). Member states, with the support of the Commission, will now jointly define and agree on the amount of offshore renewable generation to be deployed within each sea basin by 2050, with intermediate steps in 2030 and 2040. These objectives will be based on the national energy and climate plans, the offshore renewable potential of each sea basin, environmental protections, climate adaptation and other uses of the sea, as well as the EU’s decarbonisation targets. By the end of July 2023, the ENTSO for Electricity, with involvement from others, will develop integrated offshore network development plans for each sea basin. These strategic plans should provide a high-level outlook for future offshore generation and interconnection.

The TEN-E Regulation will drive the collective planning and development of cross-border energy infrastructure and offshore projects, creating a more

integrated energy system. The development of offshore grids and offshore connections will determine Ireland’s future and role in this energy revolution. However, for Ireland to succeed, there must be immediate additional human and financial resources allocated to all of the institutions involved, including An Bord Pleanála, MARA and the courts.

Progress must commence immediately on developing PCIs and PMIs. The development of these projects and infrastructure will enable Ireland to achieve climate neutrality, become a centre of energy production exporting green energy to mainland Europe, and be energy secure for the first time in its history.

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The TEN-E Regulation requires member states to give PCIs and PMIs priority status to ensure rapid administrative treatment. In order to simplify and expedite the permitting process, each member state is required to nominate a competent body to coordinate the process and to ensure that a maximum period of three-and-a-half years is allowed for the totality of the planning process (subject to an extension of nine months). In Ireland, An Bord Pleanála has been nominated as the relevant authority for this purpose.

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The TEN-E Regulation identifies priority corridors which cover different geographic regions in the field of electricity, gas, and oil infrastructure as priority areas for investments. EU support for development in these corridors will connect regions currently isolated from European energy markets, strengthen existing cross-border interconnection and assist integrated renewable energy. Of particular interest to Ireland is the electricity corridors and offshore grid corridors. In respect of electricity corridors, Ireland is a member of the regional group the North South electricity interconnections in Western Europe (NSI West Electricity) which relates to interconnections between member states of the region and the Mediterranean area. Ireland is also a member of the Northern Seas offshore grid (NSOG). This regional group focuses on offshore electricity grid development, integrated offshore electricity including, where appropriate, hydrogen grid development in the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea, the English Channel, and neighbouring waters to transport electricity or in some cases hydrogen from renewable offshore energy sources to centres of consumption and storage or to increase cross border renewable energy exchange.

E: plee@philiplee.ie smccabe@philiplee.ie W: www.philiplee.ie

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Offshore: Routes to market and further reduction of risk Nguyen Dinh, head of hydrogen and principal in Ireland and Vietnam at OWC, and Claire Atkins, OWC Ireland country manager and a specialist in offshore wind supply chain, infrastructure and installation, discuss routes to market options and further reduction of risk and costs for offshore wind energy.

Dinh contextualises where Irish offshore wind finds itself at the moment: “The Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan Phase 1 identifies the potential for offshore wind farm development of up to 39GW without significant adverse effects on the environment. The potential for Irish offshore energy including wave and tidal could be 70GW, 10 times our national electricity needs. Ireland’s Climate Action Plan has very ambitious targets of 40 per cent of energy and 70 (now 80) per cent of electricity from renewables by 2030.

“However, we know that electricity consumes only 30-35 per cent of total energy and that the other 65-70 per cent is consumed by transport, heat and other sectors, which is mostly imported from other countries. So, the question is: how we can deliver that potential to all sectors?”

“Hydrogen may have its challenges but deepwater wind projects fitted with electrolysers could change the way we store and transport energy.”

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Dinh mentions that EirWind’s Irish Offshore Wind Blueprint 2020-2050, published in July 2020 and synthesised from more than 40 research reports, sets the vision for 2030 to meet the Government’s target and develop up to 7.3GW of wind generation.

If the infrastructure required can be developed and scaled up by 2040, an expected 13.8GW of offshore wind is to be delivered. By 2050, Ireland expects to be a global exporter of offshore power and hydrogen exporting about 30 percent by 2040 and more than 60 percent by 2050 with regards to hydrogen production. Delivering the blueprint targets will bring in enormous economic, social, and environmental benefits to Ireland.

With this expectation looming over the development of offshore wind in Ireland, Dinh and Atkins explain the typical development of a project, particularly with regard to costs and possible risks: “In general, most offshore wind projects will have five stages. Stage 1, development and consenting, takes considerable investment and the risks here include regulatory uncertainty, costly surveys and experience of the consultant and other contractors used. The next stage, Stage 2, is component manufacturing which entails significant capital expenditure for components, structure and turbine manufacturing. There are multiple risks in this stage which include contracting risks, a lack of standardisation, lack of risk sharing, and insufficient capacity or inexperienced contractors.

“Stage 3, transportation and installation, these costs are heavily dependent on infrastructure availability and logistics. Particularly when you consider key elements such as port infrastructure. Stage 4, operations and maintenance, governs the revenue but is largely dependent on the reliability of O&M measures and sufficient infrastructure availability. The last stage, Stage 5, is decommissioning. It is important to weigh up the costs and the risks associated with all five stages, in order to

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support the developers involved,” says Atkins.

Dinh expands into floating offshore wind (FOW), detailing the fact that research tells us that prospective costs for substructure and foundations, can carry considerably larger costs.

Potential opportunities for cost reduction, he says, lie in further support for the FOW sector.

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“The FOW sector needs experienced engineers as well; for example, OWC have gained significant FOW experience through the work that we have undertaken as Owners Engineer on the Erebus FOW project in the Celtic Sea and other projects,” he says.

“In Ireland, when we are developing FOW, besides infrastructure, route to market is the other important issue. Hydrogen may have its challenges but deepwater wind projects fitted with electrolysers could change the way we store and transport energy. Moving to FOW will not only change the way we deliver energy, but how we store and transport it as well, as mentioned in a recent article by RV Ahilan from the AqualisBraemar LOC Group.”

Turning his eye to the potential export market for offshore wind and hydrogen, Dinh cites the example of the German market. Recent estimates state that by 2050, Germans may have to import more than 50 per cent of hydrogen due to their limited capacity of green hydrogen production. Thus, how Ireland delivers green hydrogen to foreign markets should now be answered to facilitate the developers and investors as well the infrastructure and supply chain that will be required, that all take time to realise.

“There are several ways to transport hydrogen or ammonia to markets, for example through tankers or pipelines. Transporting hydrogen by tankers could be more economical past 1,500km as pointed out in our recent study. Converting to ammonia for transporting by tankers could be economical at both shorter and longer distances.”

For exporting electricity, developments of the existing interconnectors (East-West and Moyle) and the proposed ones, the Celtic, Greenlink and Organic Power interconnectors have together shown great efforts, however the increasing demand could exceed that capacity. In gas infrastructure, the Moffat Interconnector and the Shannon LNG project mean that by 2030, 30GW of capacity is expected. When the Celtic Interconnector is in operation, Ireland will have roughly 3GW of electricity interconnector capacity, and Dinh says it is “questionable as to whether or not this will be sufficient, so this is something that will need to be considered now for the future”.

Finally, Dinh looks to how Ireland would see the benefits to the power system: “We have to maintain the frequency at exactly 50 Hz. Besides the important roles of pumped storage, batteries and demand response, the US Department of Energy considers the potential role of electrolysers in grid services, and we can see from their tests that grids with electrolysers are more stable than those without. That translates to the further consolidation of the whole integrated energy system, and it would be an answer.”

Atkins emphasises the critical role that infrastructure, including transmission systems, interconnectors, ports, legislation and consenting, all play in ensuring that our offshore wind projects and hydrogen projects are well planned.

“Ireland has strategically developed R&D capacity around offshore and marine renewable energy including the world-class Lir National Ocean Test Facility in Cork.

It will be more beneficial if Ireland continues that strategy by advancing investment in planning, legislation, infrastructure and further R&D as those will help to bring down the costs of offshore wind and green hydrogen in a sustainable way,” Atkins and Dinh conclude.

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Maritime area planning Intended to be the centrepiece of a new streamlined consenting regime which will enable the swift deployment of offshore wind energy infrastructure, ultimately delivering 5GW by 2030, the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (MAP Act) was signed into law in December 2021.

The Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 is one component of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) which was published in summer 2021. Parallel to the National Planning Framework, the NMPF illustrates the vision for Ireland’s maritime area, totalling approximately 495,000km2, until 2040.

The Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021 passed all stages of the Oireachtas on 17 December and was enacted on 23 December 2021.

It was heralded by government as “the biggest reform of marine governance since the foundation of the state”. The Act provides the legal and administrative underpinning for a new planning regime in the maritime area, facilitating the development of offshore energy. It is intended to strike a balance between unlocking Ireland’s offshore wind potential, while also protecting the marine environment.

Replacing existing development consent regimes with a single consent principle, or Maritime Area Consent (a seabed lease), it will enable development consent, or planning permission, with one environmental assessment. The new processes provided for within the Act will apply to foreshore licences and leases, as well as planning permissions for marine projects, from seaweed harvesting to offshore renewable energy infrastructure.

Significantly, the legislation seeks to ensure that the consent mechanism for offshore renewable energy projects: •

complies with EU environmental assessment obligations;

•

complies with Aarhus Convention on public participation; and

•

enables Ireland to deliver projects conducive to national climate targets for 2030.

Ireland’s first maritime spatial plan, the NMPF, was published in tandem with the MAP Bill. While undertaking their functions, public bodies, particularly those responsible for issuing authorisation or consent for offshore activities, must comply with the objectives of the NMPF.

Designated Maritime Area Plans Providing for Designated Maritime Area Plans (DMAPs), or portions of the maritime area which are selected for specific usage, the Act also requires applications for Marine Area Consents (MACs) within DMAPs to be subject to a specific process.

Marine Area Consent The MAC regime requires that developers acquire a MAC prior to development permission applications to An Bord Pleanála. Therefore, MACs operate as a stepping stone into the development consent system and a decision on a MAC application must be made within 90 days.

Within Schedule 5 of the Act, there are several criteria used to determine approval for MAC applications. These include:

Maritime Area Regulatory Authority

•

public interest;

The legislation also creates a new regulatory authority, the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA). Alongside its enforcement functions, MARA will assume responsibility for issuing foreshore licences from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Likewise, the authority will also be empowered to issue Maritime Area Consents (equivalent to foreshore leases).

•

ministerial guidelines;

•

developer competence;

•

consistency with the NMPF; and

•

preparatory work undertaken by the developer, including stakeholder engagement.

Beginning its work in January 2022, the MARA implementation committee has been allocated a €2 million budget. Until MARA is established (Q1 2023) and resourced, the Minister will retain responsibility for granting applications for licences and leases to legacy projects or “special MAC cases”.

Similarly, while aquaculture activities will continue to be processed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister has indicated that this function will eventually transfer to MARA.

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Maritime spatial planning

Seven offshore wind projects granted “relevant project” status in May 2020 – i.e., offshore renewable energy projects which hold a foreshore authorisation, are in the process of applying for

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

foreshore authorisation, or are subject to an EirGrid connection agreement – can be invited by the Minister to apply for the first MACs. It is intended that these “special MAC cases” will contribute to the delivery of 5GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.

“The Maritime Area Planning Bill represents a giant leap forward towards meeting our ambitious climate action goals and targets...”

In January 2022, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD, launched a consultation the new MAC consent regime for offshore renewable energy. “As Minister for the Environment, I will have the responsibility of inviting Maritime Area Consent applications from an initial batch of offshore renewable energy projects,” he said.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD

“This Bill gives legal underpinning to an entirely new marine planning system, which balances our huge offshore wind energy potential with the need to protect our marine environment...”

Minister of State for Planning and Local Government Peter Burke TD

“The passage of this Bill is a critical and hugely welcome development in our efforts to mitigate climate change by decarbonising our energy sources through the development of offshore renewable energy...”

Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD

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COMMENTARY

Development Consent Mirroring the consenting process for onshore strategic infrastructure development, the MAP Act provides that particular offshore developments, such as offshore renewable energy projects, obtain planning permission under the amended Planning and Development Act 2000. Decisions on such applications rests with An Bord Pleanála. Characteristics of this regime include: •

potential for An Bord Pleanála to receive ministerial direction on priority applications;

•

pre-application discussions between An Bord Pleanála and developers;

•

oral hearings and public participation as facilitated by An Bord Pleanála;

•

completion of environmental impact assessments/appropriate assessments as required by An Bord Pleanála; and

•

provision of reasoned decisions by An Bord Pleanála, within 18 weeks of the application being lodged.

Meanwhile, certain activities within the newly defined nearshore (three nautical miles from the high-water mark) will also require planning permission under the Planning and Development Act. However, the adjacent local authority, or coastal planning authority, will be responsible for processing these applications, not An Bord Pleanála.

Marine planning guidelines Facilitating the Minister to issue marine planning guidelines, the Act requires that these are held in regard by public bodies in the performance of their functions. Such guidelines may also include specific marine planning requirements necessitating public body compliance. Similarly, the Minister may also issue policy directives which with relevant public bodies must comply in undertaking their work.

Judicial review The MAP Act provides that decisions made by either the Minister or MARA on MAC applications and licences, as well as decisions made by An Bord Pleanála on permissions for offshore development, can be challenged by judicial review. Taken within eight weeks of a decision, any challenge the High Court must first demonstrate both “substantial grounds” and “sufficient interest”.

Regardless of challenge by judicial review, a developer can still apply for and receive development permission from An Bord Pleanála. When the judicial review proceedings have concluded, these permissions may come into effect.

While the Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021 received broad support, in the Seanad Final Stage, concerns were raised by independent Seanadóir Alice-Mary Higgins: “If marine and environmental protection is nowhere in this process, it is a travesty that the Government would go ahead with this process… allowing people to occupy it and carry out different activities as if it is an asset, rather than the part of the planet and the oceans we are responsible for. It is a worrying frame.”

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Unlocking Ireland’s offshore wind pipeline will be key to meeting Ireland’s renewables targets rates, driven primarily by specific growth in high energy industries such as data centres and electric vehicles.

The Irish Government’s “80 by 30” target – whereby 80 per cent of electricity will be generated by renewable sources by 2030 – is an ambitious one and based on the Climate Action Plan, this will see current renewable energy generation capacity increase from 4.5 gigawatts (GW) today to circa 15GW by 2030, including 4GW of incremental onshore wind, 5GW of offshore wind and circa 2GW of solar capacity.

Russell Smyth

James Delahunt

Ireland is the leader in Europe when it comes to onshore wind with the highest percentage of onshore wind generation as a percentage of our total electricity generation at over 40 per cent. This is a remarkable achievement for a country of our size and a testament to good policy support, visionary developers and committed investors over the last 25 years.

As Ireland seeks to rapidly increase its share of renewable electricity generation over the coming decade and beyond, we will now need to achieve similar successes in offshore

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wind. Russell Smyth, Corporate Finance Partner, and James Delahunt, Corporate Finance Director, of KPMG write.

A clear offshore wind policy landscape is key to attracting international investment into the sector and enabling developers to progress with projects. This article considers where offshore wind sits in the context of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan targets, looks at the success of Scotland’s recent auction and considers what Ireland needs to do next.

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Climate Action Plan targets Ireland is expected to experience strong, sustained growth in electricity demand over the coming years, with estimates putting it at circa 30 per cent growth by 2030 and circa 80 per cent growth by 2040. These are remarkable growth

It is expected that the majority of this 5GW of offshore will be met by the existing Relevant Status offshore wind projects, which have a combined capacity of circa 4.5GW. Much needs to be done to deliver on these projects alone, but the question is also being asked as to whether Ireland’s offshore wind ambition is big enough, particularly when we look at our counterparts across the Irish Sea.

Scotland has set a good example in offshore wind that Ireland should follow From a development perspective it was notable to observe the Crown Estate Scotland, which is the semi-state agency that manages the rights to British foreshore licences, announce in January 2022 the results of its ScotWind tender process to secure development rights for offshore wind projects off the coast of Scotland.

The Crown Estate Scotland awarded contract rights to 17 energy companies to build almost 25GW of offshore wind in Scotland, almost two thirds of which will be floating offshore wind. A cohort of some of the largest energy companies in the world paid a combined €838 million to secure licences to develop

both floating and fixed offshore wind projects off the Scottish coast, with one single large project being a 3GW floating wind farm proposal from Scottish Power Renewables, a subsidiary business of Spanish utilities company Iberdrola. This project alone would represent 60 per cent of Ireland’s offshore wind ambition to 2030.

It is notable that this auction has been achieved despite Scotland having poor grid capacity (similar to Ireland), resulting in limited options for local uptake of the huge volumes of power that will be generated from these projects. However, rather than wait for upgraded grid infrastructure, Scotland have deemed that the excess energy will find a suitable offtake or use through the utilisation of electricity from offshore wind to facilitate the production of green hydrogen and ammonia.

The successful development of these projects should see Scotland set to become a major hub for the further development of this sector in the years ahead.

What Ireland needs to do From an Irish perspective, 2021 saw initial signs of growing frustrations from some of the existing participants in the market at the pace of development in the sector. In November 2021, Equinor announced that it had pulled out of the Irish market in what was a blow to Ireland’s climate ambitions, particularly that it happened in the same week that the government published its new Climate Action Plan.

It was positive to see the Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021 pass through all stages of the Oireachtas in December 2021. The Bill establishes in law a new planning regime for the maritime area and will replace the existing State and

“The question is also being asked as to whether Ireland’s offshore wind ambition is big enough, particularly when we look at our counterparts across the Irish Sea.” development consent regimes and streamline arrangements on the basis of a single consent principle, i.e., one state consent (Maritime Area Consent) to enable occupation of the Maritime Area and one development consent (planning permission), with a single environmental assessment.

However, this is just one step with regards the policy changes that Ireland needs to deliver. These include the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Agency, the introduction of legislation for designation of Marine Protected Areas, the design of a process for issuing seabed leases akin to ScotWind, and the delivery of the first offshore renewable energy support schemes.

International appetite for Irish projects remains strong, but should not be taken for granted From a KPMG perspective, we spend a lot of time speaking with large international players in the energy

markets who have an appetite to invest in projects in Ireland. This appetite remains strong, notwithstanding the Equinor news in 2021. However, it is important that Ireland recognises that these international investors have opportunities in dozens of countries throughout the world, and Ireland is ultimately competing for their capital, against the likes of Scotland. We should not take their interest and appetite for granted and do what we can from a policy perspective to ensure that both the existing market participants are supported and enabled to deliver their projects and the Phase 2 projects are accelerated as quicky as possible to ensure Ireland harnesses its energy generation potential, become a leader in offshore wind and ultimately help insulate Ireland from price shocks in years to come.

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Whilst senior government ministers, including Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister Michael McGrath were quick to downplay the significance of Equinor’s exit, the energy industry itself was concerned, highlighting that a key issue was the long outdated regulatory and planning system for foreshore developments in Ireland that were legislated for in the 1933 Foreshore Act.

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Other successful bidders included SSE Renewables, Falck Renewables, Vattenfall, BayWa, DEME, Magnora and Northland Power.

E: russell.smyth@kpmg.ie / james.delahunt@kpmg.ie W: www.kpmg.ie

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25th May

Date for your diary!

Irish Climate Summit 2022 25th May 2022 • Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin Last year, Ireland took significant steps on the journey towards realising its climate action ambitions.

Aligned with EU ambitions, the current Programme for Government and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 commit Ireland to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Climate Action Plan 2021 is Ireland’s roadmap to achieving these objectives and will be updated annually. The changes required must be shouldered by the whole of Irish society and the economy.

In this context, the 2022 conference will examine the latest ambitions, challenges, and opportunities of Ireland’s response to the climate crisis.

Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities

Key issues to be examined:

There are a number of opportunities for interested organisations to become involved with this conference as sponsors or exhibitors. This is an excellent way for organisations to raise their profile with a key audience of senior decision-makers from across the climate sector in Ireland. For further information on how your organisation can benefit, contact Ciarán Galway on 01 661 3755 or email ciaran.galway@eolasmagazine.ie

 National climate governance  Implementing the Climate Action Plan  Revising Europe’s climate, energy, and transport legislation  Irish youth climate activism  Sectoral leaders’ dialogue  Carbon budgeting: Deciding sectoral emissions ceilings  Responding to the biodiversity crisis  Climate action and the role of local government  Financing a net zero carbon transition by 2050  Public attitudes to climate action  Community-led climate action

Register now online www.irishclimatesummit.ie

Online

www.irishclimatesummit.ie

By email

registration@environmentireland.ie

By telephone

+353 (0) 1 661 3755

offshore wind report

Maritime Area Planning Act signed into law 23 December 2021

Alison Fanagan

The Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act provides for new consenting processes for foreshore licences, foreshore leases and planning permissions for various marine projects, including offshore renewable energy infrastructure, write Alison Fanagan, Consultant, Environmental and Planning, and John Dallas, Partner, Energy, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, at A&L Goodbody.

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It also creates a new regulatory authority, and a regime for designating protected marine areas. It provides a “fit for purpose” mechanism for the consenting of offshore renewable energy projects in a way that complies with European environmental assessment obligations and facilitates public participation. It gives Ireland a realistic chance of delivering new renewable energy sources to meet its 2030 climate change targets.

Maritime Area Regulatory Authority The MAP Act establishes the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA). MARA will issue licences to conduct surveys in the marine environment (currently termed foreshore licences in Ireland, equivalent to England’s seabed survey licences), and Maritime Area Consents (MACs)

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(currently termed foreshore leases in Ireland, equivalent to a Crown Estate Lease). MARA will also have various enforcement functions. MARA’s functions will transition across once it is set up and resourced, likely in early 2023. The Minister will grant applications for licences and MACs in the interim.

Licensing for marine surveys The MAP Act allows for public participation and environmental assessment as part of the licence application process. The conditions that can attach to a licence are very similar to those that currently apply to foreshore licences.

Maritime Area Consent (MAC) regime A MAC is the new “State consent” to allow for the occupation of a specified part of the maritime

John Dallas

area, on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.

MARA will be the authority responsible for determining these applications from 2023. The relevant Minister will exercise MARA’s functions in the meantime. Developers must hold a MAC before they can apply to An Bord Pleanála for development consent.

The criteria to be applied when determining whether to grant a MAC are set out in Schedule 5 of the MAP Act and are focused on the technical and financial competence of the applicant rather than the merits of the project itself.

Maritime Spatial Planning and Designated Maritime Area Plans

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It is expected that the "relevant projects” announced on 19 May 2020 will be invited by the Minister to apply for the first MACs in or around April 2022. These are offshore renewable energy projects which were, as of 31 December 2019, either the subject of an application for a “foreshore authorisation" (i.e., a foreshore lease under the Foreshore Act 1933); or already held a foreshore authorisation or had a valid connection agreement from a transmission system operator (or confirmation of eligibility for such an agreement). The stated hope of the Irish Government (announced when launching its draft Climate Action legislation) is that many of these projects will be consented and operational so as to deliver 5GW of offshore wind energy to help Ireland meet its 2030 climate targets.

Certain activities within the nearshore area will require planning permission under the PDA, with the adjacent local authority, referred to as a Coastal Planning Authority, rather than An Bord Pleanála, responsible for processing such applications.

The MAP Act expands on the existing regime for maritime spatial planning, required under the European Union Maritime Spatial Planning Directive. The first such spatial plan published in 2022 – the National Marine Planning Framework – sets out various objectives and policies to guide activities and development in the offshore area. Separate legislation is underway for the designation of more marine protected areas.

Ministerial Guidelines and policy directive The MAP Act allows the Minister to issue accompanying regulations, as well as marine planning guidelines and policy directives, all very similar to existing provisions for land-based planning. These are expected to be published/consulted on during 2022.

The MAP Act requires decisions on MAC applications to be made within 90 days. The MAP Act does not provide for public participation, appropriate assessment, or environmental impact assessment in relation to these applications as a MAC is not a “development consent” for the purposes of the applicable EU requirements.

However, evidence of stakeholder engagement on the project is one of the Schedule 5 criteria, which the Minister/MARA must take into account when deciding whether to grant a MAC. MARA can attach conditions to a MAC, as set out in Schedule 6.

Next steps

Development consent

Authors:

The MAP Act requires specified categories of marine development, including in particular offshore renewable energy projects, to obtain planning permission under the existing Planning and Development Act 2000 (the PDA), amended by the MAP Act for that purpose. An Bord Pleanála will be the decision-maker for offshore renewable energy project applications. The consenting regime is closely modelled on the existing consenting regime for onshore strategic infrastructure development, which applications are also made directly to An Bord Pleanála, who then carry out public consultation and environmental assessment.

Alison Fanagan afanagan@algoodbody.com

A consultation process has now opened on the intended MAC application process for Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects, as well as on the detail of the financial and technical competence criteria to be fulfilled. The Government is hopeful that the first MAC applications will be lodged in April 2022, with the planning applications being submitted to the Board in Q3/4 2022. An Offshore Renewable Energy Support Scheme (ORESS1) is expected to open for applications in Q4 2022.

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John Dallas jdallas@algoodbody.com Other key contacts: Alan Roberts aroberts@algoodbody.com Ross Moore rmoore@algoodbody.com W: www.algoodbody.com

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Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

Ireland’s offshore wind capabilities are evolving rapidly Ireland’s capabilities around the rapidly developing offshore wind (OW) energy are evolving fast and in a wide range of sectors. This development is often preceded by strategic research involving extensive collaboration between industry and academia within and outside the island, writes Vikram Pakrashi, Associate Professor at University College Dublin.

There is an active involvement of the funding bodies within Ireland and in the EU to support such research and the niche skills, insights, knowhow, and technologies developed will bolster a strongly bourgeoning area of employment. Operations, maintenance, and lifetime performance of offshore wind seem to dominate this theme.

While manufacturing of offshore wind turbine is typically carried out by large international companies, lifetime maintenance and performance related aspects are typically carried out by local, or smaller companies. This is an opportunity for Ireland since several of these aspects require advanced and multidisciplinary understanding of the design and performance of offshore wind turbines, along with their monitoring, measurement, and subsequent assessments. The need for complex modelling, understanding of new materials and designs, monitoring through sensors, along with related data analytics also makes it well aligned to the highly educated workforce of Ireland with a

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focus on digital solutions. These are areas where it is also possible for Irish companies to be competitive globally.

Energy has remained a core vertical for UCD, and offshore wind continues to be a priority area of focus. In the coming five years, research in UCD’s Energy Institute (UCD-EI) on offshore wind will investigate several fundamental and applied aspects in offshore wind which will evolve many nascent concepts towards industrial practice. A range of interconnected works will address the reduction of lifetime cost and risk of offshore wind technologies and operations for reliable, long-life, cheaper, hazard-aware, and resilient electricity. This will be achieved by assimilating fundamental physics with engineering, climate research and data.

Through the all-island NexSys project, funded by the Science Foundation Ireland, philanthropy and several industries, this research will: •

establish bespoke operations and maintenance (O&M) tools for OW via

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

advanced climate science and data analytics; •

create a deep and new understanding of mechanical and structural responses of OW turbines and their components impacting their lifetime safety and performance;

•

develop bespoke monitoring and system identification tools and benchmarks for O&M, including estimates of remaining life and digital twinning;

•

demonstrate new controls for improved lifetime performance; and

•

assess interconnected offshore grids, rational business processes, and public acceptance.

This research is supported by excellent industrial and scientific networks and the results will contribute to various global task groups of the International Energy Agency. Collaboration is envisaged with scientists, industry, and

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland recently funded a range of projects on offshore wind, including REMOTEWIND, which supports bespoke non-contact solutions for inspection of onshore and offshore wind farms through flying and swimming drones, along with non-contact laser measurements. On the other hand, the WindLEDERR project will investigate decision support options for end-of-life wind turbines for extension, decommissioning, repowering, and repurposing. The TwinFarm project on the other hand, will look into digital twinning and control aspects. Site repowering and lifetime geotechnical challenges are also addressed through recent projects funded by the Irish Research Council. Whether from a public goods perspective, or from an industry-led idea with focused intellectual property generation, extensive research in the OW sector will also lead to a wealth of knowhow which will be particularly relevant in terms of training up of workforces globally on niche areas. Enterprise Ireland recently launched the SEMPRE project which includes extensive research and testing to address key technical challenges in the development of a new robotic seabed drilling system for the installation, testing, and certification of marine anchors using micropile technology. UCD plays a key role in developing such solutions and translating new knowledge into industrially usable guidelines, recommendations, and pathways towards standardisation. At EU level, such standardisation pathways are also

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policymakers globally, along with national centre with complementary skills, like the SFI MaREI centre and Ireland’s National Ocean Testing Facility LiR. Sustained research efforts like this not only create a national network around the topic, but also develop a culture of thought, training, and action, which can be reflected in practice.

being forged by organisations like Eurostruct, through their dedicated task-groups. These projects will liaise with the objectives and individual works in NexSys as well.

Independently, various components of OW technology might be well known, but the combined interdisciplinary requirements of the sector are multifaceted and in flux. Research support around it thus needs to be holistic and sustained in its approach to obtain the full benefit of the efforts and investments. We need to create extensive evidence bases, tools and training to translate ideas into practice.

While science and technology research often take the spotlight, economic and social aspects of this sector are a major and important area, which probably require further attention. For example, the concept of just transition has started gaining traction and will continue to be extremely important for sustainable and resilient decisions on this topic. NexSys will be a leading project in making this happen for Ireland. Over time, we can only expect to see more dialogue between science and technology with the economic and social aspects.

Another aspect that will remain important is the understanding and handling of uncertainties in these areas since they directly link back to the idea of risk and resilience over the lifetime of the turbines. In a multidisciplinary environment, understanding of such risks and uncertainties becomes a major challenge. Here, Ireland continues to attract leaders around the topic, not just through research but also being a host to major conferences in risk and uncertainties (e.g., ICASP14, Dublin, 2023).

Ireland has a clear research focus on the topic of offshore wind and in a wide context. A continued support in the area should clearly develop a highly trained, innovative, and competitive workforce.

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Shaping the transformation of Ireland’s electricity grid further renewable generators, and ultimately, net zero by 2050.

EirGrid consulted on four different approaches to developing the grid.

1. Generation-led approach: Put clean electricity generation close to where most power is used. The most likely outcome from this approach would be, for example, more wind farms off the east coast of the island of Ireland.

2. Developer-led approach: Let developers decide where to locate clean electricity generation. At least 10 of the projects needed to make the grid ready for this approach will be significant in size as they will need to move large amounts of power over long distances.

Mark Foley, Chief Executive, EirGrid.

In November, EirGrid Chief Executive, Mark Foley and Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, unveiled the Shaping Our Electricity Future roadmap, a blueprint for radically transforming the country’s electricity grid.

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EirGrid was asked by the Government to transform the electricity system in anticipation of a future without coal, oil, peat and ultimately one with net zero emissions. Specifically, EirGrid is to redevelop the grid to manage the vast majority of Ireland’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030.

The Shaping Our Electricity Future roadmap was the result of a comprehensive 14-week consultation across all sectors of society and two

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years of research by industry experts and tens of millions of technical simulations.

It provides an outline of the key developments needed from a networks, engagement, operations, and market perspective to support a secure transition to at least 70 per cent renewables on the electricity grid by 2030. This is an important step on the journey towards 80 per cent renewables, which will present opportunities for

3. Technology-led approach: Try new technological ways to move clean electricity across the country. This approach uses several high-voltage underground electricity cables moving power from the west to the east of Ireland.

4. Demand-led approach: Put large electricity users close to sources of clean electricity generation.

The final roadmap contains a blended approach that looks at grid development from an economic, technical, social acceptance and deliverability perspective.

The plan comprises 40 new grid infrastructure projects, representing a total investment of over €1 billion. This is on top of an existing €2.2 billion programme of grid infrastructure projects which EirGrid has already engaged with communities on and which we have funding for.

Liam Ryan, EirGrid chief innovation and planning officer, says: “Under the roadmap, there will be greater control over where future generation and demand is located, minimising the need

for the development of new electricity lines. Most of the new projects identified in the blueprint are upgrades to existing infrastructure.”

Key to the development of the roadmap was a national public consultation that ran for 14 weeks from 8 March.

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The consultation was supported by a range of traditional and innovative engagement and participation activities.

These included a deliberative dialogue (modelled on Ireland’s Citizens Assembly), complemented by national fora involving industry, civil society, and youth. In addition to this, EirGrid engaged at grassroots level with rural communities, local businesses, and young people.

In response, there were 492 submissions from members of the general public and 80 industry submissions.

To reflect the feedback received from the public, the following changes were made to the EirGrid models: •

•

•

•

Large energy users: It is anticipated that some new large energy users will locate in regional towns and cities. We anticipate the power demand for these will be 316MW. Microgeneration: In Ireland, there is an assumption of 500MW of microgeneration by 2030. EirGrid originally modelled between 100MW and 400MW. Onshore wind: EirGrid is planning for an additional 1.3GW of onshore wind generation to be in place by 2030.

Storage: We are planning for 1.65GW of battery storage to be in place by 2030. This is more than the 750MW originally modelled and will help store wind and solar energy to be used when there is no sun or wind.

Ryan comments: “During the public consultation, a large amount of feedback

supported offshore generation. Many stakeholders felt that offshore generation has a less negative environmental and visual impact. A few stakeholders pointed out that there is less opposition to the construction of offshore than onshore projects.

“Reflecting this support for offshore electricity development in Ireland, the figure in the final roadmap was increased to 5GW.” In addition to this, stakeholders expressed the view that there should be much more offshore on the west coast of Ireland, utilising the Atlantic Ocean.

However, EirGrid has assumed limited capacity for offshore wind development off the south and west coast. Offshore wind development in the short term remains to be predominantly focused on the east coast.

It is not expected that the technology for offshore wind will be developed maturely enough to facilitate large scale offshore wind on the west coast in the short term.

The east coast of Ireland has shallower waters, making offshore a more viable option in the short term. It also important to note that the Government has given priority to several east coast offshore developments in the context of the Marine Planning and Development Management legislation.

Onshore wind continues to play a major role in delivering the renewable ambition, with new capacity connecting in areas of the grid with relatively fewer network constraints. This responds to strong support for the generation-led approach which achieves benefits for consumers by reducing both network constraints, and the scale and quantity of network reinforcements required.

In Ireland, the final roadmap includes an additional 1.3GW of new onshore renewable electricity on 2020 levels.

There will also be significant growth in solar power. On top of the 500MW of microgeneration, EirGrid is planning for a further 1,000MW of commercial solar developments, delivering a total of 1,500MW by 2030.

Ryan concludes: “EirGrid is committed to updating our roadmap at regular intervals to cater for evolving energy policy. In parallel, we will continue to work with key stakeholders in exploring the necessary market reforms to attract investment in renewable energy and system services and to optimise participation of community owned and demand-based energy resources.”

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•

Offshore wind: In Ireland, EirGrid is now planning for 5GW of offshore wind generation to be in place by 2030. This is in line with Government policy. Most of this will be based off the east coast of Ireland as it is more technologically feasible than the south and west coasts. We originally modelled between 1.8GW and 4.5GW.

E: david.martin@eirgrid.com W: www.eirgridgroup.com

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Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition

Denmark’s energy islands: A paradigm shift offshore wind report

Denmark’s offshore wind legacy is well established. Now, undertaking the largest construction project in its history, with a projected cost of €28 billion, the Scandinavian country is seeking to at least quadruple its offshore wind capacity.

Illustration of the proposed North Sea energy island. Credit: Danish Energy Agency

Having constructed the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, Denmark now looks set to build on this legacy by creating the world’s first energy islands. Located in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea respectively, these islands will exploit the northern European nation’s vast offshore wind resources, directly supplying 5GW of energy to the Danish electricity grid.

Political context Denmark’s Climate Act 2020 commits to an ambition of reducing Denmark’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 when compared with 1990, and CO2 neutrality by 2050. In late 2020, it also announced that it was ending all new North Sea oil and gas exploration.

On 22 June 2020, agreement on the establishment of two energy islands was reached under the Danish Climate Agreement for Energy and Industry 2020. With cross-party consensus, the agreement was reach between the Danish Government, the Liberal Party, Danish People’s Party, Social Liberal Party, Socialist People’s Party, the Red-Green Alliance, Conservative Party, Liberal Alliance, and the Alternative. The same parties also reached agreement in February 2021 that the energy island in the North Sea would be artificially constructed and that the Danish State would be a majority owner with one or several private sector partners.

“Green power plants at sea” Until now, offshore wind farms were constructed as individual, nonconnected units. Through the creation of several continuously connected

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offshore wind farms to a hub, a green, offshore power plant will be established.

Operating as hubs, the islands will act as transmission centres; gathering electricity from hundreds of surrounding offshore wind farms and distributing it to the Danish grid and neighbouring countries. As such, green electricity can be distributed from an area with significant wind resources to areas of high electricity demand.

Together, the two energy islands will triple Denmark’s electricity production from offshore wind farms.

Branded as “green power plants at sea”, the energy islands will enable offshore wind turbines to be located further from the Danish coast and distribute power more efficiently between several neighbouring countries.

While offshore wind farms will connect with electrotechnical facilities – to enable the collection and distribution of energy – on each island, they will not be identical. The Baltic Sea energy island will be established on Bornholm, meaning that the electrotechnical equipment will be located on land. Meanwhile, in the North Sea, an artificial island will be constructed.

Delivering Ireland’s offshore wind ambition Initially, the offshore wind farms located near to the two energy islands will produce a total of 5GW of electricity; 3GW from the North Sea and 2GW from the Baltic Sea. Ultimately, it is intended that the energy island and surrounding wind farms in the North Sea will expand capacity to generate and distribute 10GW.

North Sea

While its exact size is yet to be determined, the North Sea island is expected to have a footprint of between 120,000 and 460,000m2. As well as being established further out at sea, up to 600 wind turbines (200 initially) in the surrounding wind farms are anticipated to stand up to 260m tall; much larger than existing turbines.

The size and design of the island will be determined by the Danish State as majority (at least 50.1 per cent) owner of the island in partnership with private sector actors.

With initial capacity of 3GW, corresponding with

Baltic Sea

offshore wind report

Already comprising over 400 named islands, Denmark is proposing the construction of a new 120,000m2 artificial island. Located in the North Sea, between 80 and 100km west of Thorsminde, Jutland, the artificial island will be home to electrotechnical facilities to route electricity from the surrounding windfarms into the electricity grid for the first 3GW of offshore wind. There is also potential for service facilities and a harbour.

the electricity consumption of three million households (twice the capacity of all existing Danish offshore wind turbines combined and half of Denmark’s total electricity consumption), further electrification of Denmark and neighbouring countries could be facilitated by phased expansion to 10GW (10 million homes). Detail within the political agreement around the islands also includes ambitions for power-to-x, as well as utility-scale battery storage technology for surplus electricity when supply exceeds demand.

Simultaneously, electrotechnical equipment will be also housed on the natural island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Offshore wind farms will be established 20km south-southwest of Bornholm and electricity generated routed to grids on Zealand and neighbouring countries. These wind farms will have a capacity of 2GW, corresponding with the electricity consumption of two million households.

A location for the offshore wind farms near energy island Bornholm was determined in November 2021, alongside a gross area for the location of the energy island and associated wind farms in the North Sea.

Next steps In relation to the tendering process, the Danish Energy Authority anticipates that the winning bid will be announced in early 2023. Meanwhile, Energinet, the Danish transmission system operator (TSO), has tasked Fugro and MMT with conducting geophysical studies of the sea bed for the North Sea island. These surveys are expected to be completed by September 2022.

Furthermore, Fugro has been awarded another contract for cable route surveys, while Intertek has been commission to undertake additional analysis.

In the Baltic Sea, Energinet has tasked Ramboll engineering consultancy with conducting environmental studies for the energy island until 2024. In a recent development, the Danish Energy Authority has instructed Energinet expand the area of consideration and examine the possibility of increasing capacity to 3GW. Speaking on his country’s strides towards establishing the world’s first energy islands, Minister for Climate Dan Jørgensen MF remarked: “We are now entering a new era in the Danish wind adventure… The energy islands will help to increase the amount of renewable energy significantly, and at the same time we will make it possible to transform the green power into fuels for heavy transport both on land, at sea and in the air. In other words, the energy islands supply the green electricity, which is the prerequisite for the climate-neutral Denmark and Europe of the future.”

It is intended that the Danish energy island project will act as a blueprint for other nations seeking to undertake such action.

“The energy islands supply the green electricity, which is the prerequisite for the climate-neutral Denmark and Europe of the future.”

Danish Minister for Climate Dan Jørgensen MF

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