Up to 150 construction jobs are expected to be created after Oriel Windfarm and Gaelectric Holdings signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-develop an offshore wind farm in the north Irish Sea.

The North Irish Sea Array (NISA) has the potential to produce up to 870 MW of wind energy from the Irish Sea and will start with the development of a 15 MW demonstration project entailing an investment of €80million in a new research and development hub for offshore wind energy.

The North Irish Sea Array will be the first major offshore renewable energy project to be developed in the Irish Sea since the construction of the Arklow Bank Wind Farm by GE Electricity in 2001.

-- Advertisement --

Both Oriel and Gaelectric have been involved in representations to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to extend the feed-in tariff for wave and tidal energy, announced at the Irish Renewable Energy Summit 2015, to offshore wind R&D projects to be capped at 30 MW. The promoters see this as a vital step in incentivising and re-invigorating an industry that has remained stagnant for the last 14 years.

The 15 MW NISA Demonstration Project, with an initial investment of €80million, will be a key first step towards the realisation of the much larger NISA development. It will provide the necessary catalyst for further projects as proposed in ISLES II[1] and, in so doing, strengthen Ireland’s indigenous renewable sector providing sustainable jobs and help meet critical climate change targets. The NISA Offshore Demonstration Project will see international companies use the Irish Sea as a testing ground for new innovations in offshore wind energy technology. Demonstration projects play a vital role in the development of new technology, with the opportunity to test turbines, cables and foundations under full operating conditions.

(CD/MH)