EirGrid – Shaping our offshore energy future

The national electricity grid operator needs to add more energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar to the power system in the years ahead.

Doing so is necessary to meet the Government target of producing up to 80% of electricity used in Ireland from clean renewable sources by 2030, on the way to ultimately becoming a net zero society by 2050.

A key pillar of this approach will be maximising the potential of offshore wind, a process in which EirGrid will play a leading role over the coming years.

By 2030, EirGrid aims to connect up to 5GW of offshore wind power to our national grid. This will mark the first step on a path that will ultimately see over 30GW of energy coming from offshore wind by 2050; more than enough to satisfy Ireland’s entire electricity need.

In March 2023, the Government published its policy statement on the Framework for Phase Two Offshore Wind that outlined a four-phase process for developing offshore wind energy infrastructure.

In the short-term, the framework is based on a developer-led approach, taking advantage of projects that have been in development for several years. In the medium to long-term this will transition to a plan-led approach.

STATE’S FIRST OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY AUCTION

Phase 1 of this framework is developer-led, with private developers responsible for delivering wind turbines as well as the offshore grid infrastructure to connect them to the onshore grid. EirGrid will be responsible for providing grid connections for these wind developments.

Ownership of the turbines will remain with the developers, with EirGrid then taking ownership of the offshore infrastructure connecting them to the grid when complete.

In May of this year, EirGrid announced the results of the State’s first auction as part of its Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1 auction). Of the six offshore wind energy developers which competed against each other to win contracts to provide electricity at the bid price for a twenty-year period, four bidders were successful in this auction. Three of these projects are located off the country’s east coast, and one off the west coast.

This auction secured over 3GW of capacity from four offshore wind projects at an average of €86.05/ MWh, enough to supply over 12 terawatt hours of renewable electricity per year. Further auctions are planned for later phases in order to achieve the Government’s 5GW ambition by 2030.

EIRGRID’S CENTRAL ROLE

Phase 2 of the framework marks the start of the plan-led approach outlined by Government, to be led by EirGrid. This critical phase will see up to 900 megawatts of renewable electricity from wind resources off Ireland’s south coast – enough to power almost a million homes.

The wind turbines will again be provided by private developers following a competitive auction process, but in this phase EirGrid will be responsible for delivering the infrastructure that will connect the power to the onshore grid.

This will be realised through EirGrid’s Shaping Our Offshore Energy Future programme, which will see offshore electricity substations placed off the south coast – one in an area off the coast of Cork, and one off the coast of Waterford or Wexford.

EirGrid will provide connections between these offshore substations and new onshore substations using undersea and underground electricity cables.

The additional existing grid capacity on the south coast means it is an ideal location in which to bring further renewable energy resources onto the grid.

To help inform communities and business stakeholders about what this phase will involve, EirGrid hosted a series of Public Information Events across the region in June.

These information sessions were in advance of a full public consultation involving more detailed plans for the programme, to take place in the autumn. The general public, communities and businesses in the region will be able to submit their views on the plans through this consultation, as outlined by EirGrid’s Head of Public Engagement Sinéad Dooley:

“It is absolutely vital that businesses and communities on the south coast are given every opportunity to talk to us about the Shaping Our Offshore Energy Future programme and make their views known, so that we can work together towards achieving Ireland’s climate goals.”

Construction work on EirGrid’s offshore connection infrastructure is expected to begin later this decade, to be completed in 2030 following a wide range of studies, extensive public consultation and robust consenting processes.

SECURING THE FUTURE OF IRELAND’S OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY SUPPLY

Whereas the initial two phases will involve the installation of fixedbottom turbines which can be deployed at scale in time to meet our 2030 targets, Phase 3 will aim to support the long-term potential for a floating offshore wind industry.

The Government has set an initial target of 2GW of floating offshore wind to be in development by the end of this decade. This may include the development of projects devoted to production of green hydrogen, to create the necessary environment to develop an indigenous hydrogen industry, and projects devoted to other nongrid uses.

Following on from Phase 3 at the end of this decade, the Enduring Regime of offshore wind energy supply will see greater State involvement in the development of the sector in terms of where projects are developed, when they are developed, and where the energy generated will be used.

This plan-led approach will optimise and expedite the development of offshore and onshore energy grid infrastructure to enable Ireland to become a major regional producer and exporter of green energy, whilst bolstering domestic security of supply.

This will include future development by EirGrid and the private sector of additional European cross-border connectivity, such as point-to-point and hybrid electricity interconnectors, and offshore energy islands.

This ambitious and very necessary process of greening Ireland’s electricity grid will bring challenges for all involved, but it also offers tremendous opportunity as we move towards an economy powered by renewables including offshore wind.

Throughout this journey, EirGrid looks forward to exploring the opportunities that this transformation can bring for both industries and communities on the south coast.

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