‘Big, big prize’ for Northern Ireland will be floating wind

“The fixed wind resource in Northern Ireland is reasonably slim,” Mr Apps explained. “It’s a small strip around the coastline for which you’ve got to think about navigation, other pressures on community and visual impact,” he told delegates. “So, the big, big prize for Northern Ireland is actually going to be floating wind.”

Department of Economy deputy secretary and head of energy Richard Rodgers told the conference that the updated target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 makes offshore wind even more important to the province. “The question is,” he said, “how can we accelerate the deployment of offshore wind to help achieve this new legislative target?”

He explained that, in January 2022, after the energy strategy was published, the Department of Economy published an action plan describing how the 70% (now 80%) target might be achieved. A key part of that action plan is to deliver 1 GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Mr Rodgers noted that Northern Ireland also had a renewable energy action plan for 2012-2020, but that not much came as a result of it. “But it’s going to be different this time,” he said.

He told delegates at the conference that his department is engaging with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in London to consider urgently a financial support mechanism to incentivise renewable investment in Northern Ireland.

“Discussions are at an advanced stage, the leading candidate being a contract for difference scheme for Northern Ireland,” he explained. “We will consult on this year and we will land it next year. That’s our commitment.

“Seabed leasing for Northern Ireland waters is being worked on with The Crown Estate. Not just with the department for the economy, but across government and we are also working with our colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on the appropriate marine licensing and consenting arrangements and onshore planning considerations, and with colleagues in NIE Networks and the system operator, SONI, to ensure the electricity grid will be ready to accommodate the deployment of at least 1 GW of offshore wind capacity from 2030.”

According to Mr Rodgers, the Department for Economy is also working with The Crown Estate on a ‘statement of intent’ which will formalise their working relationship and the commitments that each party makes towards achieving the timetable set out. What he described as “a robust programme of strategic environmental assessments” is due to be completed by Q3 2023. Last but not least, he said, the department is also undertaking research with the Bryden Centre at Queen’s University to identify how to maximise the potential of offshore wind, the data and the evidence that will underpin an accelerated approach. “This year we will, in government, also publish an ambitious plan for offshore wind and the vision is that we will all work as partners to help deliver it,” he said.

Highlighting some of the potential economic benefits of developing offshore wind, KPMG partner Russel Smyth told the conference, “It’s going to be impossible for the island of Ireland to decarbonise without deploying offshore wind.”

He explained that Ireland has moved ahead of Northern Ireland in recent years in terms of its renewables ambition but said Northern Ireland “is catching up now with the recently published energy strategy.”

He noted that in Ireland, there are more than 70 active projects being progressed, and the government has come out with an ambition to have 5 GW of offshore wind operational by 2030, rising to 30 GW in the longer term. “That would mean that by the mid-2030s, we’re going to have more renewables generation offshore than all other renewable sources on the island of Ireland combined,” he said.

That Northern Ireland is already recognised as a potentially attractive floating wind market is evident in plans announced by at least two developers, SBM Offshore and Simply Blue Group.

In February, SBM Offshore confirmed it is assessing Northern Ireland’s potential for floating wind development. Project director for the proposed 400-MW North Channel Wind floating wind project in the Irish Sea Niamh Kenny said if it were to go ahead, the development could be a game-changer for Northern Ireland. “We are investigating two sites in the North Channel halfway between Northern Ireland and Scotland,” Ms Kenny said. “The two sites, North Channel 1 and 2, would generate a combined 400 MW, representing 13% of Northern Ireland’s energy needs and up to 57% of domestic requirement.”

A month later, Simply Blue Group unveiled plans for the Nomadic Offshore Wind floating wind project, a windfarm that would provide the primary energy source for what could become a renewable energy hub at the MJM Renewables site, in Ballykelly. Green energy from this windfarm would power projects within the hub including manufacturing facilities, hydrogen production, a data centre and other advanced research and development industries.

Ms Kenny told the conference, “Because The Crown of Estate hasn’t announced a leasing round yet, in a sense we’re taking a gamble because the normal process would be that you would wait for a leasing round. You would bid for seabed rights and then do your consenting, but we have taken a chance and said, ‘Look, we’re going to spend some money, we’re going to try pick the right location. We hope it will be the right location for the leasing round and we’re going to try and consent these sites in advance of the leasing round.’

“There is 400 MW there in total, potentially that could be increased. We are looking at optimising the sites at the moment. Potentially, with the right layout and seabed conditions, we could get up to 800 MW,” she told delegates.

“We believe we could potentially be operational before 2030. We are going to do all of our environmental work, licensing and as much of the pre-development work that we can in advance of the leasing round and hope that we will have a leasing round here in 2024. If that happens, then we can accelerate our programme and we can have all of the permits and grid connection in place by 2026 and reach FID by 2027. Construction will take two years, possibly 18 months and we could be in the water by 2029. It’s not impossible.”

The Offshore Wind Journal Conference will be held 14 June 2022. Details and tickets can be found here