A multi-billion euro deal has been agreed to develop two floating wind farms of the Clare and Cork coasts.
EDF Renewables Ireland has entered into a partnership to develop the Western Star and Emerald floating wind projects with Simply Blue Group.
The partnership is subject to a merger clearance expected in the coming months.
The Western Star floating wind project is to be located at least 35km off the west coast of Clare once plans come to fruition, and together with the Emerald project off the Cork coast, has the capacity to generate enough low-carbon electricity to power approximately two million Irish homes.
Plans hit a stumbling block last year, however, when multinational energy company Shell pulled out of the joint venture, though Simply Blue indicated at the time that it intended to push ahead with plans, with a public consultation process since held in Clare.
Now, a 50:50 joint venture between Simply Blue Group and EDF Renewables will seek to progress the two projects to meet Irish Government targets to have 2 Gigawatts of floating wind in development by 2030.
In a statement to Clare FM, they say the partnership underlines the confidence of the two companies in the Irish market and that both parties see great potential in the scale of opportunity for floating offshore wind in Ireland, off the west and south coasts.
The Project Managing Director for Emerald and Western Star has added that “the partnership is ideally placed to deliver for Phase 3 of offshore wind in Ireland”.
Val Cummins says this is key to kick-starting offshore energy generation, which he believes “will have a transformational positive impact on Ireland’s maritime and energy landscape, including the coastal communities in Cork and Clare”.
