Minister O'Brien welcomes successful result of State's second offshore wind auction

Tonn Nua auction secures highly competitive price compared to recent auctions internationally

Result shows international confidence in Ireland's offshore wind industry

900MW of clean renewable energy can power almost 1 million homes, reduce energy prices, and heighten Ireland's security of supply

Offshore energy project will bring jobs, community benefit funds and wider economic benefits

The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien has today welcomed the provisional results of the State's second offshore wind auction under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS). The extremely positive results mark another milestone moment in Ireland's offshore renewable energy (ORE) ambitions, showing a vote of confidence internationally in Ireland's ORE potential.

The Tonn Nua auction process invited renewable energy project developers to compete against each other, by bidding as low as possible, in order to win a contract to provide renewable electricity for a 20-year period. The result of the hugely competitive auction has surpassed expectation, with a renewable energy price secured of €98.719 per megawatt hour (MWh). This price compares very favourably to recent offshore energy auctions in other jurisdictions and the price secured in Ireland's recent onshore RESS 5 auction. For comparison, the average wholesale electricity price in Ireland to date in 2025 is €114/MWh.

The winning applicant is Helvick Head Offshore Wind DAC, a joint venture partnership between ESB and Denmark-based renewable energy developer Ørsted. ESB is involved in two major offshore wind energy projects in Scotland. Ørsted operate offshore wind farms in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Taiwan, the US, and the UK. In June 2023, ESB and Ørsted announced a 50/50 partnership to develop a pipeline of offshore wind development projects off the Irish coast.

The Tonn Nua auction was the first to be held for a site within the State's first spatial plan for ORE development – the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (SC-DMAP). The Tonn Nua site (meaning 'New Wave') is located off the Waterford coast. It will procure 900 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, enough to power almost 1 million homes. It will save 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year after its construction, making a sizable contribution to Ireland's wider climate and renewable electricity targets. Tonn Nua is one of four maritime sites within the SC-DMAP identified for future offshore wind development.

The SC-DMAP was approved by the Oireachtas in October 2024 following a comprehensive environmental assessment process, and an almost year-long engagement process with coastal communities and key stakeholders, including fishers, environmental NGOs and local authorities. An independent analysis has highlighted that implementing the SC-DMAP will deliver considerable economic benefits and employment opportunities.

Welcoming the results, Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, said:

Minister of State with special responsibility for the Marine Timmy Dooley said:

The Tonn Nua results announced today are provisional and are subject to the normal RESS confirmation processes. Final auction results will be announced on 9 December.

Community Benefit Fund provisions

Under the community benefit fund provisions of Tonn Nua, the successful project is required to make payments to local coastal communities in the vicinity of the development. The Tonn Nua fund established by the winning auction bidder will now see communities benefit from €140 million over a 20-year period, beginning before construction and continuing until after the site begins to produce renewable energy. The €7 million a year fund will support the sustainable environmental, economic, social, and cultural well-being of the local community, with grants to local clubs and other community groups and projects.

In May 2023, the results of Ireland's first offshore wind auction, ORESS 1, was a breakthrough moment for the State's ORE ambitions, with a hugely competitive price secured – at an average of €86.05/MWh. 5 'Phase One' projects that participated in ORESS 1 have submitted applications for planning consent with An Coimisiún Pleanála. Their collective capacity of 3.8GW represents more than 60% of Ireland's present peak electricity demand.

The government will now move towards making arrangements to bring the remaining 3 SC-DMAP sites to market, working closely with EirGrid to develop grid connection options. This will ensure a consistent pipeline of offshore developments will take place over the coming years.

ENDS

Tonn Nua

Tonn Nua ('New Wave') is situated off the coast of County Waterford and encompasses a total marine area of 306 square kilometres. The distance to shore varies from between 12.2 kilometres along the western boundary to 12.4 kilometres along the northern boundary. Tonn Nua has a mean water depth of 57 metres, with a minimum water depth of 48 metres and a maximum water depth of 69 metres. With a typical density of 4.5MW / square kilometre, a 900MW development would use approximately 65% of the total marine space within Tonn Nua. The spatial flexibility provided will allow for windfarm layout and project boundaries to be adjusted, as required.

South Coast DMAP (SC-DMAP)

The SC-DMAP was approved by the Oireachtas on 31 October 2024, following a process of technical, economic and environmental assessment, of SEA and appropriate assessment, and of consultation with stakeholders and in particular coastal communities in Cork, Waterford and Wexford. Including the Tonn Nua auction site, the SC-DMAP identifies four maritime areas off the south coast in which offshore wind development will take place over the next decade, with total capacity of approximately 5GW. Minister O'Brien is examining the most appropriate approach to auctioning the remaining 3 sites and is working closely with EirGrid to develop grid connection options.

You can find the SC-DMAP page on the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment's website.

Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce

The cross-departmental Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce was established in 2022 to accelerate the delivery of offshore wind energy and drive the longer-term economic and business opportunities associated with the sector's development. Chaired by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, the Taskforce brings together senior officials from 16 government departments and agencies to deliver on Ireland's offshore wind ambitions.

A key output of the Taskforce is the Offshore Wind Energy Programme (OWEP), a system-wide plan which tracks the ongoing work across Government to deliver on our offshore wind ambitions and Climate Action Plan targets. An annual report including key actions for delivery in the coming year is published on the Taskforce's dedicated page on gov.ie.

The most recent Annual Report was published in June 2025.

Climate Action Plan 2025

Climate Action Plan 2025 has been approved by the government and published. Climate Action Plan 2025 is the fourth annual update to Ireland's Climate Action Plan 2019. This plan is the third to be prepared under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and following the introduction of economy-wide Carbon Budgets and Sectoral Emissions Ceilings. The Climate Action Plan 2025 has committed to the development of 5 GW of offshore wind capacity with projects in construction by 2030 and energised as soon as feasible thereafter. The implementation of the Climate Action Plan will create jobs, new economic opportunities and protect people and the planet.

Economic opportunity for the South Coast

The Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) will deliver real opportunities for substantial regional development along the South Coast. An independent analysis has highlighted these potential economic benefits and employment opportunities associated with implementing the Plan – which could deliver inward investment of €4.4 billion and an estimated 49,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) years of employment to the Irish economy. The analysis further highlights that more than 65% of inward investment and employment opportunities should be captured by the south coast region. Through establishing a pipeline of future offshore wind development areas, the South Coast DMAP also brings certainty to Ireland's burgeoning offshore wind industry, which will deploy the investments needed to accelerate the green energy transition in Ireland.

Designated Maritime Area Plans (DMAPs)

As part of the new national plan-led regime for ORE, the establishment of Designated Maritime Area Plans (DMAPs) will ensure that post-Phase One ORE developments will be led by maritime spatial plans identified by government. In doing so, it will provide a framework for the sustainable use of the State's offshore wind resource and marine space through coordinated, coherent and transparent decision-making in relation to ORE development. Maximising opportunities for co-existence between ORE projects and other marine users, including fishers, has been central to the preparation of the DMAP. This will make Ireland the first country in the European Union to place equivalent statutory co-existence obligations on ORE developers to facilitate co-existence.