The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has funded research to lead the international development of floating windfarms.

The new SEAI-funded project called Integrated Design of FLOW Arrays - Ireland (IDEA-IRL) will produce a long term FLOW development roadmap for Ireland, identifying recommendations to increase the social, economic and environmental benefits.

The €800,000 project is coordinated by MaREI, University College Cork (the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine research and innovation), and includes project partners Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) and Wind Energy Ireland (WEI).

By 2050, DNV predict that FLOW will generate 264 GW. As Irish offshore wind is a considerable natural resource the targets aim to deploy 5 GW of fixed offshore wind by 2030 (with 2 GW of FLOW in development) and 30 GW of FLOW thereafter.

In 2020, University College Cork and GDG recognised the need to tackle the challenges of large-scale FLOW development and explore the potential of the industry for Ireland.

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Following a meeting with 103 FLOW experts, a project was initiated to address the pressing research requirements for FLOW arrays under the esteemed framework of the International Energy Association (IEA) Wind Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP).

The IDEA project (IEA TCP Wind Task 49) that began in 2022 relies on the collaboration and alignment of national and international research projects instead of direct funding.

IDEA-IRL will support Ireland's involvement in Task 49 and facilitate more in-depth and Ireland-specific research into FLOW array opportunities.

IDEA-IRL aims to:

• Deliver a set of fully defined reference sites characteristic of the international global FLOW deployment pipeline including relevant technical, social, environmental and economic parameters.

• Deliver a set of fully open source and customisable FLOW array reference farm designs including key engineering tool input files, cost and environmental impact models.

• Deliver a Failure Mode, Effects & Criticality Analysis framework for FLOW arrays including for coupled/cascading failures.

• Engage with the international groups developing innovations for the FLOW energy industry, categorise in terms of impact and ensure that functionality for their development is included in the reference farm definitions.

• Engage with the international agencies responsible for Marine Spatial Planning to collect open research questions and concerns. Ensure that the reference sites/farms enable the research to address them.

• Apply the work of Task 49 in an Irish context and engage with the local supply chain to provide specific policy recommendations and development pathways.

• Raise the profile of FLOW energy technology, related research and expertise in Ireland through the delivery of a multifaceted communications strategy.