Ireland awards first maritime consents for offshore wind

Ireland has issued the first six maritime area consents (MAC) for offshore wind projects which entitles the schemes to participate in the country's first offshore wind auction targeting 2.5 GW of capacity.

The successful projects include the 370-MW Oriel Wind Park jointly developed by Parkwind NV and ESB, RWE's Bray and Kish Banks with a planned capacity in the range of 600 MW to 900 MW, Codling Wind Park consisting of two projects -- Codling I and Codling II, Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta’s Skerd Rocks, SSERenewables' Arklow Bank II and Statkraft's North Irish Sea Array.

The consents were issued after a comprehensive assessment procedure that was launched earlier this year and evaluated each of the projects in terms of financial and technical competency in order to ensure that the most viable will be selected. The projects with a MAC award will be allowed to take part in Ireland's first offshore wind tender, the Offshore Renewable Energy Support Scheme (ORESS), and to apply for development permission from the country's independent planning body An Bord Pleanala. The holders of the consents must obtain a route to market for their project by the end of December 2025.

The terms and conditions for the auction were approved by the Irish government in November.

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