“We need to get wind on the wires now to enable Ireland to reach its 2040 targets,” said Séamus McCabe, senior development director at offshore wind developer Corio Generation, speaking during the final day of Solar Media’s Wind Power Finance & Investment Summit Europe (20 September).
“I have worked in the wind sector for 15 years or so, and I’ve seen plenty of new dawns but what [Ireland] needs now is delivery. Delivery and execution is what we need now to get [offshore wind] projects through the consulting framework,” continued McCabe.
Fellow panellist Úna Brosnan, head of offshore strategy & new markets at renewable energy company Mainstream Renewable Power concurred with McCabe, responding:
“I fully support delivery, it’s delivery, delivery, delivery, coupled with building out our Irish grid.”
Boasting an enviable onshore wind capacity which generates 40% of Ireland’s energy, according to moderator Noel Cunniffe, CEO of representative body Wind Energy Ireland; however, despite being an early adopter, it’s offshore wind industry has had more difficulty getting off the ground.
Ireland has made strides to address this, launching it’s first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) – similar to the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme – which saw 3GW of offshore wind projects secure funding in what was dubbed a “breakthrough moment” by the Irish government for the country’s offshore wind target of 20GW by 2040.
Both panellists praised the success of the ORESS, in particular the protection the scheme offered offshore wind projects. For example, its 20-year duration helps give investors confidence in the longevity of offshore wind project profitability.
Looking to the next auction – ORESS-2 – both Brosnan and Cunniffe expressed some wariness in regards to the timeline of its launch.
The second auction will take a planned-led approach, the Irish government confirmed, and there is currently discussion around running the first of two auctions (South Coast and East Coast) in Q1 next year.
Cunniffe called the suspected timeline “incredibly ambitious” and his sentiments were echoed by Brosnan.
“Having an auction next year wouldn’t be in the best financial interests of supporting a robust investment case. Unfortunately, we will only have visibility properly at the end of Q1 next year, so we need time,” said Brosnan.
“Realistically, we need to be looking at I think, at least 2025, I cannot see how industries will be in the in the right headspace and the right financial position to support an auction in 2024.”
The timeline for ORESS-2 is yet to be confirmed.
Brosnan also highlighted the importance of Irish interconnection to capitalise on the country’s opportunity to become a renewable energy exporter, citing their recent interconnection agreement between Ireland and the UK as a positive stepping point.
The UK and Ireland have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) called the ‘Cooperation in the Energy Transition, Offshore Renewables and Electricity Interconnection’, under which both countries will increase cooperation for developing offshore renewable energy, explore further electricity interconnection opportunities and enhance security of gas supplies.