Offshore wind event held in Leinster House hears multi-billion offshore investments could boost Waterford’s economy and jobs market.
As published in Waterford Chamber’s Network Magazine – September 2024
The event was held at Leinster House in June where political representatives from the south east region and key policymakers from various government departments and agencies were invited to hear a panel discussion on the key opportunities and challenges presenting the development of offshore wind in the region. The gathering was sponsored by Energia Group and Vårgrønn who are partnering in the co-development of offshore wind projects in Ireland and are sponsors of Waterford Chamber.
On the panel discussion were Dr. Frances Hardiman, Head of the Faculty of Engineering at SETU; David Sinnott, CEO of Waterford Port Company; Stephen Bull, CEO of Norwegian based offshore wind company Vårgrønn, and Kieran Walsh, Senior Vice-President of Vestas wind energy. Opening the event was Waterford’s Senator John Cummins, who hosted the group in Leinster House and Waterford Chamber President Niall Harrington.
Currently, the Department of Environment, Communications and Climate are progressing through a Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) for the south east region which will determine where the next offshore wind project will be located.
Each of the speakers highlighted how the prospect of offshore wind energy development is an immense opportunity for Waterford and the south east region, as it presents significant opportunities for job creation and skills development. The future expansion of this sector has the potential not only to drive economic growth but also to position the region as a leader in sustainable energy. By fostering a workforce skilled in renewable technologies, Waterford has the opportunity to attract further investments, enhance its competitiveness and contribute to Ireland’s broader goals of reducing carbon emissions and promoting environmental sustainability.
Energia Group and Vårgrønn welcomed the opportunity to present and speak to those in attendance. Peter Baillie, Managing Director of Energia Renewables said in his introduction, “Waterford Chamber’s meeting in Leinster House marks an important and timely discussion on the economic opportunities in offshore wind for Waterford and the south-east region.
“There have been delays arising from changes in Government policy last year so it’s vital that momentum is re-established by finalising the south coast Designated Maritime area Plan (DMAP) and requirements for the next auction to be held under the Offshore Renewable Energy Support Scheme (the ORESS 2.1 auction). Any delays in these essential processes could see Ireland’s interests fall further behind, particularly as other countries advance their own substantial ambitions.
In terms of policy, a single project isn’t sufficient. We urgently need a prioritised pipeline of projects so that developers and the supply chain see the opportunity to bring the lowest cost and most efficient delivery for Ireland. In tandem with this, we want to see investment now in Irish based port infrastructure, such as the Port of Waterford and support capabilities which will
be for the greater good of the renewable energy sector and economy of Ireland. If this investment doesn’t happen quickly, offshore windfarms will be built but they will be serviced from the UK or France. There is a great opportunity to promote a balanced regional investment to ensure prosperity, wellbeing and success for local communities including Waterford and the south east.”
During the discussion, Stephen Bull, new CEO of Vårgrønn said “With Ireland being a nascent market in the European context, the country can look at best practice from international offshore wind projects and markets to optimise how its own market is being developed. Norway is at a similar stage of development to Ireland in offshore wind and lessons can be learned from its experience.
We see from other markets that building supply chain capability and securing investment requires a reliable and predicable long-term project pipeline.”
Looking ahead, Peter Baillie expressed enthusiasm for Energia’s partnership with Vårgrønn.
“Energia Group is a leader in the energy transition with a very significant pipeline of solar and onshore wind projects at advanced stages of development, and a pipeline of battery storage and hydrogen energy developments. We are combining our Irish experience with the international and supply chain experience of Vårgrønn to develop 2 Gigawatts of offshore wind projects off the coasts of Ireland by 2030.”
From various other contributions on the day, the clear message from industry was the need for government to provide a prioritised project pipeline and grid strategy for Ireland to demonstrate the long-term opportunities for investors. Additionally, the Government must ensure that the priorities for offshore wind development are aligned across all relevant government departments.
“We want to thank all those who contributed positively on the topic of offshore wind and its potential in the south east region. It’s clear that industry wants to see this happen. We look forward to seeing the final DMAP progress and ORESS 2.1 auction held”.
About Energia
Energia Group is a leading integrated and innovative energy company committed to playing a key role in the decarbonisation of the energy system across the island of Ireland. The Group primarily operates through three business units; Renewables; Flexible Generation; and Customer Solutions (Energia in ROI and Power NI in NI). Energia Group currently supplies approximately 17% of the island of Ireland’s total electricity requirements and is responsible for approximately 20% of wind power capacity installed on the island. The Renewables business owns and operates 309MW of wind assets and purchases electricity from 1,224MW of renewable generation capacity throughout Ireland. We have extensive experience of delivering large-scale projects, we are progressing a large pipeline of new renewable projects in Ireland. These include onshore and offshore wind farms, solar farms, battery storage and green hydrogen production facilities
About Vårgrønn
Vårgrønn is an agile, Norway-based offshore wind company powering the energy transition through development, construction, operation, and ownership of offshore wind projects and related infrastructure. Vårgrønn is a joint venture between the energy company Plenitude (Eni) and the Norwegian energy entrepreneur and investor HitecVision.
Vårgrønn’s current pipeline of projects and prospective projects spans England, Scotland, Ireland and Norway in addition to early-stage initiatives in the Baltics. Vårgrønn holds a 20% share in Dogger Bank, the world’s largest windfarm under construction. Vårgrønn has also recently been successful in securing a UK Government Contract for Difference for Europe’s first commercial scale floating offshore wind project Green Volt off the coast of Scotland. By 2030, Vårgrønn targets at least 5 GW of offshore wind in operation or sanctioned across Northern Europe.
Offshore Stakeholder and Communications Manager