Ireland Extends Consultation Period on Galway Bay Test Site

Ireland’s Marine Institute has extended the public notice period for the foreshore lease application to upgrade the Galway Bay Marine and Renewable Energy Test Site has until 02 August 2016.

The proposed upgrade would allow floating wind farm technology to be tested offshore at Galway Bay.

The Marine Institute received confirmation on 27 June that the governing bodies have decided as an exceptional matter and in the public interest, to extend the period by which submissions from members of the public for the above application can be submitted by one month.

The Marine Institute applied to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government for a foreshore lease for the Galway Bay Marine and Renewable Energy Test site where prototype marine renewable energy technology can be tested at reduced scale to determine viability in an ocean environment.

Observations are invited on the foreshore lease application which outlines plans to upgrade the existing infrastructure and facilitate the deployment of a wider range of marine renewable energy devices and novel sensor technologies at the site.

The test site has been in operation since 2006 when it was established by the Marine Institute and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The purpose of the site is to allow technology innovators to test the viability of small scale prototypes in an ocean environment.