Investment group awarded offshore wind farm licence off the coast of Dundalk

The location of the wind farm

Investment group Macquarie has been awarded the licence for a €377 million offshore wind farm link in the Irish Sea.

The West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm, located off Cumbria in the Irish Sea some 190km due east of Dundalk, generates power for around 270,000 homes each year.

The license enables the West of Duddon Sands Transmission Plc venture to manage the electricity link for 20 years.

The link transports power from the 389-megawatt Duddon Sands wind farm to the shore. Dong Energy AS and ScottishPower Renewables last week signed an agreement to sell the wind farm’s transmission assets to the venture, which will operate and maintain the link. The UK had almost 4,500 megawatts of installed offshore wind capacity at the end of last year, the largest in Europe, according to European Wind Energy Association estimates.

Information day in Carlingford over proposed offshore wind farm

The area in red where it is proposed that the offshore wind farm will be located

First Flight Wind are hoping to install wind farms off the south east coast of Co Down in the coming years.

As a result they have set up offshore wind farm information days in eight locations next month.

One of these will be held in the Heritage Centre in Carlingford on Thursday 19^th September from 10am to 8pm. Experts from First Flight Wind will be on hand on the day to discuss any possible concerns people have with the wind farms.

An early wind farm planned for Rockmarshall was defeated following an appeal to An Bord Pleanala earlier this year.

For further information visit www.firstflightwind.com