Parkwind, ESB Plan to Progress 375 MW Offshore Wind Farm in Ireland Despite Auction Results

May 12, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

Parkwind and ESB, the developers of the proposed Oriel Wind Farm in Ireland, plan to continue working towards the delivery of the project despite it not being awarded a contract in the country’s first offshore wind auction. The two companies join SSE Renewables, whose Arklow Bank II also did not win a contract in this ORESS round, in reaffirming commitment to their offshore wind projects in Ireland.

“While the Oriel project was not awarded a contract in this auction round, Parkwind and ESB believe that it is a well-positioned project and will ultimately play its part in generating the renewable electricity we need”, a spokesperson from Parkwind said in an e-mail statement to offshoreWIND.biz.

“We will continue to progress the project and are actively investigating alternative routes”.

Even though its offshore wind farm was not among the winners, Parkwind highlighted that the auction was “an important milestone in the journey to further decarbonise Ireland’s electricity system”.

SSE Renewables, whose 800 MW Arklow Bank Wind Park II also did not secure a contract for renewable energy generation, issued a statement yesterday saying that the company was still committed to the future delivery of its proposed offshore wind farm.

Parkwind and ESB’s Oriel Wind Farm is proposed to be built off the North Louth coast. With the capacity of 375 MW, the project is said to be capable of delivering enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 300,000 Irish households, once operational.

The wind farm was granted Maritime Area Consents (MACs) at the end of 2022 after being fast-tracked by the Irish government together with the other five Phase One projects, the four that won in this auction round and SSE’s Arklow Bank II.

Belgium-based developer Parkwind obtained a stake in the Oriel offshore wind farm in October 2017, when the company agreed on an investment to become a strategic partner in the project with Oriel Windfarm Ltd, an Irish company established in 2005. Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board (ESB) joined the project two years later.