Ireland to Develop National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind

May 10, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, has announced plans to develop a National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind which will set out how Ireland can maximise the economic opportunity arising from the production of offshore wind energy.

Ireland’s Offshore Energy Programme includes a target to deliver 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and a further 2 GW of floating wind to be in development by 2030.

Ireland’s total target for offshore wind rises to at least 37 GW by 2050. This forms part of the government’s target to provide 80 per cent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

In order to deliver the enterprise opportunities associated with these targets, a collaborative approach between state and industry is needed, and the announcement is said to set out the government’s plan for achieving this.

The National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind will be developed in consultation with the relevant government departments, agencies, and industry, with the objective of ensuring that Ireland fully captures the value of both the supply chain to deliver an offshore wind sector at scale, and the routes to market for this renewable energy.

”The impact of recent geopolitical events on the European energy market has accelerated our decarbonisation ambitions and added real urgency to transitioning to clean, renewable energy. Ireland has an internationally recognised significant offshore wind resource which we are now beginning to develop. It is essential to ensure that our enterprise sector is ready to contribute to the delivery of offshore wind, while also maximising the economic benefit which will arise from the availability of abundant clean, renewable energy,” Minister Coveney said.

It is expected that the National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind will be published in the first quarter of 2024 and complement the suite of upcoming government policies led by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications through the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce.

”Today’s announcement is an important step towards developing new, regionally dispersed economic opportunities based on Offshore Wind, and I very much look forward to working with colleagues across government and industry over the coming months as we develop an industrial strategy that will deliver real long-term benefits to both the economy and society,” Minister Coveney said.

The broad scope of the Strategy will include measures to develop supply chain capacity and opportunities of offshore wind; measures to mitigate the risk to achievement of Ireland’s offshore wind targets arising from supply chain constraints; measures to develop both indigenous and export demand for energy derived from offshore wind; and an integrated spatial and economic framework for the development of clusters of economic activity in locations critical to the development of the offshore wind sector.

”I wholeheartedly support this initiative to develop an industrial strategy for offshore wind. Developing an offshore wind sector requires a whole-of-economy mobilisation, and an industrial strategy will provide a clear signal to international markets that across government, and indeed across Ireland; we are serious about this opportunity,” Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, said.

”Another strong signal will be sent later this week when the results of ORESS 1, our first offshore wind auction, are announced. This will provide a route to market for the first offshore wind projects, a record amount of renewables, at a highly competitive price.”