Oriel Windfarm Ltd and Gaelectric Holdings Ltd are planning to develop an offshore wind farm in the north Irish Sea that will kick off with a 15MW demonstration project involving an €80m investment.
According to the companies, the North Irish Sea Array (NISA), which is located 22km off the coast from Dundalk, has the potential to produce up to 870MW of wind energy.
They said up to 150 jobs could be created during the construction of the project, followed by 30 long term jobs. The NISA will be the first major offshore renewable energy project to be developed in the Irish Sea since GE Electricity’s construction of the Arklow Bank Wind Farm in 2001.
“This project represents the biggest step forward for the Irish offshore wind energy sector in the last 10 years,” said Brian Britton, managing director of Oriel Windfarm.
“NISA will commence with a significant demonstration project which, by their nature, draw investment and attract collaborations with local universities and provide opportunities for local businesses.
“Demonstration projects in the UK, Germany and Denmark have led to the development of full scale projects, leading to the creation of many thousands of jobs in those countries.”
“Offshore wind speeds, relatively shallow water depth and favourable sea bed conditions, make the Irish Sea an ideal location for offshore wind projects and as a testing ground for offshore wind technologies,” said Brendan McGrath, CEO of Gaelectric Holdings.
“The presence of a number of established ports on the east coast of Ireland is also a factor which will help attract investment to Ireland. We are confident that the project will attract leading industry players to the offshore Irish market and will be an important step towards realising the vast potential for renewable generation from the Irish Sea.”
Talk of the Town 