THE window of opportunity to develop a floating offshore wind farm cannot be missed.
That’s according to the Shannon Chamber president Eoin Gavin, who was speaking following a briefing by the chair of the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce, Barry O’Sullivan.
Mr Gavin called on the Government to speed up policy that would allow Ireland to capitalise on the potential of the offshore wind sector offers to the country.
“Ireland is already lagging behind many of its European neighbours in this sector and, with the development of floating wind continuing at increasing pace around the world, the risk of being left behind cannot be contemplated,” he said.
“To bring power onshore by 2032, floating turbines need to be built, deployed, and maintained; we need a detailed plan and the infrastructure.”
Mr Gavin continued: “Our ask, as a Chamber, is that floating wind be included in Phase 3 of the Future Framework Policy, scheduled for issue in Q1, 2024; designated maritime area plans (DMAPs) to zone Ireland’s Atlantic waters be undertaken; and a 400MW floating wind demonstrator be included in the schedule of Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auctions.”
He stated the importance of the Shannon Estuary to the overall future plans for Ireland’s move to renewable energy, saying that the estuary “is the only place that can support the building of floating wind turbines at scale”.
“It has an extensive electricity and gas network, and deep water next to plentiful land available for industrial development. The potential to create new opportunities for economic development, not previously possible, is immense, yet the critical steps to make this a reality have not yet happened,” the Chamber President added.
“We simply cannot lose this window of opportunity. While many other facets of developing this sector need to be addressed, most notably the creation of a dedicated agency with the expertise to accelerate its implementation, unless the first key critical steps commence, the sector cannot develop at pace.”
Mr Gavin concluded that “the opportunity is so great for Ireland, it needs to be expediently capitalised on”.
