Ireland’s offshore potential

Fiona McQuade summarises the Government’s plans to maximise the potential of wave, tidal and offshore wind power.

Published in February, the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP) provides a framework for the sustainable development of Ireland’s offshore renewable energy resources. Through a joint government approach, it focuses on three main areas – environmental sustainability, technical feasibility and commercial viability.

Ireland has a landmass of around 90,000 square kilometres. In contrast, the surrounding sea area is approximately 10 times larger at 900,000 square kilometres. At the launch of the plan, then Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte stated: “Ireland’s position at the Atlantic edge of the EU gives an almost unparalleled offshore energy resource with suitable conditions available for the development of the full range of current offshore renewable energy technologies.”

In August 2014, 2,468MW of renewable generation was installed in Ireland. In the last decade, Ireland’s renewable electricity generation has been driven largely by onshore wind. The OREDP’s vision is to use renewable energy generation resources such as offshore wind and wave and tidal devices in an integrated manner in order to contribute to economic development and sustainable growth, and generate jobs through coherent policy, planning and regulation.

The plan also aims to increase awareness of the value, opportunities and societal benefits of renewable energy. It states that the expansion of renewable energy resources is crucial in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, improve future national competitiveness and reduce harmful emissions.

An offshore renewable energy steering group has been established to oversee the implementation of the OREDP and the plan will be reviewed before the end of 2017.

Economy

Ireland must communicate, both at home and abroad, that it is open for business in offshore renewable energy in order to attract investors. The plan aims to harness market opportunities presented by offshore renewable energy.

“The citizen must be at the heart of the transition to renewable energy,” stated Rabbitte. Future renewable projects would benefit “coastal communities where job creation faces particular challenge.” In addition to capital grants, an initial market support scheme from 2016 onwards is considered necessary to unlock economic growth and attract early projects and jobs.

Development of renewable electricity export markets, initially to the UK and in time North West Europe, is a priority. Economic analysis conducted on behalf of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) indicates three construction job years per MW of offshore wind deployed with 0.6 in ongoing operations and maintenance jobs.

Environment

Understanding of the marine environment must be improved and the plan aims to introduce a new ‘planning and consent architecture’ for development in the marine area. Environmental assessments have found that it would be possible to achieve at least 4,500MW from offshore wind and 1,500MW from wave and tidal devices without likely significant adverse effect on the environment. However, a route to market is key. In terms of offshore wind, the potential quantity for export will have to await the conclusion of the export inter-governmental agreement with the UK.

Environmental monitoring was identified as a key area in the development of offshore projects. The steering group will be kept informed by the Marine Institute and the North’s Department of the Environment when projects are developed adjacent to Northern Ireland waters.

The general scheme of the Maritime Area and (Foreshore) Amendment Bill 2013 aims to align the foreshore content system with planning system. A single environmental impact assessment will be introduced for projects and the plan proposes to define in law an Irish maritime area, which would encompass the foreshore, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf.

The Bill would also enable developers to seek a maritime option at an early stage allowing them to reserve a portion of the maritime area for a limited thus period providing more certainty. The legislation will provide a regulatory mechanism for renewable energy projects beyond the boundaries of the territorial seas.

The Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth Plan, published in 2012, aims to develop an integrated approach to marine and coastal planning and licensing, with the aim of effectively and sustainably managing our resources and managing potential conflicts.

Infrastructure

Grid investment will reinforce the onshore grid, ensuring it is capable of handling increasing amounts of variable renewable generation and ultimately develop an offshore grid. Ireland is at the forefront of the EU in progressing network development and systems to accommodate high levels of renewable energy in the Single Electricity Market.

Involvement in regional and EU grid initiatives signals the importance of developing the grid to ensure the European energy market realises the potential of sustainable renewable energy, including offshore sources.

Offshore renewable energy projects are critically dependent on developing infrastructure. The steering group aims to have advanced work into identifying the interactions between grid and port infrastructure needs of offshore renewable energy by mid-2015, focusing on producing a practical output.