Minister Ryan welcomes publication of long-term plans for offshore wind auctions in Ireland and the North Seas

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, has today welcomed the publication by the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) of long-range plans by its members, including Ireland, towards the development of offshore wind up to 2040.

The publication, announced today (20 November) at the 2023 NSEC Ministerial Meeting at The Hague, Netherlands, puts forward "indicative auction timelines" for offshore wind auctions across all nine NSEC member states up to 2030, which includes their potential construction window up to 2040. The published database also includes Ireland’s indicative plans to meet its 2040 target of 20GW of offshore wind through competitive processes in the period up to 2030, with related construction taking place up to 2040.

In September 2022, at the NSEC Ministerial Meeting hosted in Dublin, nine NSEC countries agreed to reach at least 260GW of offshore wind energy by 2050. The target highlighted a significant increase in the collective ambition of NSECs members. It represented more than 85% of the EU-wide ambition of reaching 300GW by 2050, as set out in the EU strategy for offshore renewable energy. The 2050 NSEC ambitions are complemented with intermediate targets of at least 76 GW by 2030 and 193 GW by 2040, of which Ireland will contribute 5GW and 20GW respectively.

To accompany the publication of the NSEC auction timetable, the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce, co-ordinated by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, has published an ‘indicative roadmap’ outlining a timetable towards Ireland’s next offshore wind energy auction – ORESS 2.1. To align with available onshore grid capacity, ORESS 2.1 will take place off Ireland’s south coast and will procure up to 900MW of offshore wind. The roadmap sets out a number of steps towards Ireland’s next offshore wind auction, which are modelled on several different scenarios. These steps include the publication of a draft ‘Designated Maritime Area Plan’ (DMAP), within the marine waters off the south coast. The DMAP will act as a management plan and will determine the appropriate location for the auction site off the south coast. The publication of the draft DMAP will follow an extensive public engagement period, which will include feedback from communities and key stakeholders from the region.

Further information on the ORESS 2.1 roadmaps is available at: gov.ie/OffshoreEnergyORESS.

Speaking at the NSEC Ministerial Meeting in The Hague on 20 November, Minister Ryan said:

On the publication of the ‘indicative roadmap’ for Ireland’s next offshore wind auction, Minister Ryan said:

Ireland’s offshore wind ambitions

The Irish Government has been accelerating policy on renewable offshore wind energy. Ireland’s first offshore wind auction, ORESS 1, took place earlier this year. The results underscored the State’s ambitions within the offshore renewable wind energy sector. The hugely-competitive price secured – at an average of €86.05/MWh (megawatt hour) – is one of the lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world. Over 3GW of capacity has been procured from four offshore wind projects under ORESS1, which will deliver over 12TWh (Terawatt hours) of renewable electricity per year. This is the largest volume of renewable energy Ireland has ever procured at auction. It is also enough to power over 2.5 million Irish homes with clean electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 1 million tonnes in 2030.

North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC)

The North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) is a regional non-binding and voluntary EU cooperation framework which aims to advance development of offshore renewable energy in the geographical area of the North Seas, including the Irish and Celtic Seas. The NSEC is based on a political declaration adopted in 2016, with membership comprised of Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the European Commission.

The 2016 political declaration which established the NSEC emphasised the importance of voluntary cooperation, with the aim of securing a sustainable secure and affordable energy supply for the North Seas countries. An updated political declaration was signed in December 2021 to reflect the increased climate ambition contained in the European Green Deal. Ministers and the Commission reiterated their commitment that cooperation within the NSEC will be the framework for achieving their increased offshore ambitions. As part of their cooperation and coordination functions, members of the NSEC maintain an Offshore Wind Tender and Project Realisation Timetable, a database of planned offshore wind auctions in the North Seas region.

Ireland’s NSEC Presidency 2022

The Co-Presidency of the NSEC is held by the European Commission on a permanent basis and one NSEC member state for a rotating 12-month period. Ireland held this Co-Presidency role for 2022.

In this role during 2022 Ireland has sought to promote the following:

• establishing ambitious 2050 offshore renewable energy targets for the whole of the NSEC
• enhancing cooperation between NSEC countries, including in relation to developing offshore grids and Maritime Spatial Planning
• establishing market arrangements to encourage development of hybrid offshore renewable projects comprising offshore generation with interconnection
• formalising a constructive future relationship between the NSEC and the UK
• hybrid offshore renewable projects or hybrid interconnectors are projects that combine electricity generation with the ability to supply electricity to two or more different markets – for example an offshore wind farm that would have connections to Belgium and Denmark

Future Framework for Offshore Wind

The long-term model and vision for offshore renewable energy in Ireland is called the Future Framework. This policy will be published in early 2024 and will set out a framework for the delivery of 30GW of offshore wind by 2050. This vision for achieving our renewable energy goals is shared across Government and the regulatory framework that will be put in place will ensure that the economic, environmental and societal benefits are realised for all our citizens and stakeholders, now and into the future.

National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind

The development of a National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind was approved by government decision in May 2023. The overarching objective of the strategy will be to ensure that Ireland maximises the economic benefits associated with government targets to deliver 37GW of offshore wind by 2050. A Strategic Roadmap will be published in the first half of 2024 to coincide with the publication of the Future Framework. The first strategic roadmap will focus on:

• Supply Chains – Identification of measures to maximise Ireland’s participation in domestic and international OWE supply chain, including an assessment of risks and opportunities
• RD&I – Setting out the main opportunities for Ireland in leveraging its intrinsic innovation potential as a small, open economy with very strong RD&I pedigree. The ambition is to develop a globally recognised OWE RD&I ecosystem in Ireland to promote collaboration between SMEs, multinationals, and further and higher education institutes