Lobby group calls for State support for offshore wind energy ports

The Government needs to invest in port infrastructure in advance of wind farm development in Irish waters if it is to fully exploit offshore wind energy resources, according to a report commissioned by an industry group.

State support for port infrastructure to build offshore wind farms is “common and widespread” in Europe, an analysis by Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) for Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) finds.

“The failure by Government to act means offshore wind projects, due to compete in an auction next month, still have no idea which Irish ports – if any – will be available to construct the wind farms,” it concludes.

“This uncertainty will push up prices so Irish electricity consumers could be paying more for their power for decades to come because of the lack of ports.”

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The report, published on Thursday, details how port infrastructure for offshore wind energy was funded within and outside the EU, and highlights the critical role of State support in giving confidence to investors. It builds on last year’s National Ports Study, which showed Belfast was the only port on the island of Ireland fully equipped to serve as a construction base for offshore wind farms.

Due to the scale of turbines, which can be more than 250m tall, large deep berths are necessary to facilitate their assembly close to wind farms before transporting them offshore.

GDG director Paul Doherty said: “It is common practice across Europe for the State to invest in port infrastructure when there is a clear social and economic case for it to do so.”

Rosslare, Cork Dockyard and Shannon-Foynes have plans to expand their infrastructure to facilitate offshore wind farm construction. While the ports can raise much of this themselves, support from the State is crucial to de-risking initial investment, the report says, adding that this does not create State aid issues.

“This support could be in the form of direct funding from the Exchequer, a low-interest loan scheme or access to funding vehicles such as the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and the European Investment Bank,” Mr Doherty said.

Shannon-Foynes is planning, over time, to build a 2km-quayside, part of a deep-berth facility on Foynes island in the Shannon estuary.

Doyle Shipping Group plans to make their facility at Cork Dockyard a leader in offshore renewable energy development.

“We have a fantastic location in Cork which would suit projects off the south and southeast coasts,” said its deputy chief executive Pat Brennan. “We hope to put forward a planning application for improvements we need later this year but support from the State, whether directly or through ISIF, would really help to accelerate the process.”

WEI called on the Government to invest in ports to give industry the best chance of achieving its climate targets at the lowest cost to consumers.

[ Government U-turn ‘puts 80% of offshore wind projects at risk’ ]

The representative group’s chief executive Noel Cunniffe said: “We want to build Irish offshore wind farms in Irish ports. Our members – both ports and developers – are absolutely united on this. That is the best way to create jobs at home and to deliver offshore wind energy at the lowest possible price. But the Government needs to want this as well.

“Without more ports we will either completely miss our 2030 targets or these wind farms will be built from ports outside of Ireland, losing an incredible economic opportunity. Instead of growing jobs in Wexford, Cork and Limerick, our wind farms will be creating employment in Britain and France.”

[ Public supports wind turbines in their areas, claims lobby group ]

The Government has been seeking funding through the EU’s Connecting Europe Fund. However, the report finds Irish applications for port infrastructure under this fund last year were unsuccessful “and, even if current applications succeed, there are limitations to relying on the fund”.

The report recommends that ports, the offshore renewable energy industry and State agencies work together under an offshore wind delivery taskforce to identify solutions, including the possibility of designing an Irish strategic port investment model.

Public money was used to help fund port infrastructure for offshore wind energy at La Nouvelle and at Brest in France, and in Cuxhaven in Germany, as well as Invergordon in Scotland prior to Brexit.

“No one is looking for a blank cheque from Government, but whether it is through the Strategic Investment Fund, EU funding or from the State, the reality is that financial support is necessary to give confidence to private investors that Ireland is serious about developing the infrastructure we need to build offshore wind energy,” Mr Cunniffe said.

The report was part-funded by Belfast Harbour; DP Energy, ESB, Innis Offshore Wind, Ocean Winds, Rested, RWE Renewables and Source Galileo.