Bord na Móna and Ocean Winds join forces in offshore wind energy partnership

Bord na Móna is to diversify into offshore wind energy in a major partnership announced on Wednesday with one of the world’s biggest renewable energy developers, Ocean Winds.

The relationship will see semi-State Bord na Móna and Ocean Winds co-own, identify and develop offshore energy opportunities around the coast of Ireland. The joint venture initially incorporates two potential projects, Réalt na Mara, off the coast of Dublin and Wicklow, and Celtic Horizon, off the coast of Wexford and Waterford.

They have the potential to generate up to 2.3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electricity to power up to 2.1 million homes by 2030. Ocean Winds, a joint venture between Engie and EDPR dedicated to scale-up of offshore wind, has a portfolio of 14 offshore wind farms in seven countries, with 14.6GW of gross capacity, more than double the State’s current electricity demand – including 1.5GW already in operation.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said the joint venture was “exactly the kind of partnership we want to see more of into the future, preparing the ground for the green transition in a way that is collaborative, ambitious and international”.

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“We definitely know we can’t do it on our own... we’re not going to be able to do it without international finance and the international know-how, particularly those companies that have done offshore wind before,” he told a launch event in Dublin.

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He hoped Ireland within a generation would switch from being an energy importer, ending over-dependence on fossil fuels, to becoming an energy exporter with all the energy security, price stability, jobs and regional development this would bring.

But it was not all about offshore, Mr Varadkar said, as the transition had to include solar, interconnection, green hydrogen, battery storage and a supergrid. “Our current grid is like the local and regional roads with no motorways yet,” he added.

As the Government, he said, “we know we have to live up our side of the bargain. And that involves putting in place a modern, clear and predictable regulatory framework underpinned by legislation and timely decision-making.”

Mr Varadkar noted the creation of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, representing the biggest reform of marine governance in Ireland in almost a century.

Bord na Móna chief executive Tom Donnellan said the move was “a giant leap forward towards energy independence for Ireland”.

“Together we will ensure Ireland’s vast untapped reservoir of offshore energy will be harnessed for the good of Irish society, the economy and the planet. The projects we will develop will be of such a large scale that Ireland will be able to rely on Irish energy sources and massively reduce dependence on foreign pollutants including gas and oil,” he added.

He said the partnership was another indication Bord na Móna was being reinvented as a climate solutions company in contrast to being the country’s largest fossil fuels provider, responsible for emitting 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year for 90 years.

Mr Donnellan said Bord na Móna has four large renewable energy projects in construction, including one wind farm coming on stream next month, providing power for 55,000 homes. It has 20 other projects ranging across solar, battery storage, biomass and hydrogen in train.

These in total would contribute 20-25 per cent of the State’s 80 per cent renewable electricity requirement by 2030, he said.

Ocean Winds chief operations officer Grzegorz Gorski said the joint venture was “the perfect pairing of our international expertise with Bord na Móna’s long history working in local communities in Ireland”.

His company had “a strong track record of using our strength as global leaders in the renewables sector to create opportunities for local companies who want to expand and diversify into the emerging offshore wind sector”. In the Irish case, he believed this would be an opportunity for hundreds of companies.

Engagement with local communities, stakeholders and the fishing industry is under way in relation to the Irish Sea and southern coastline projects, he confirmed.