The nine member countries of NSEC have agreed to reach at least 260GW in offshore wind energy by 2050, while a new report shows the potential Cork could play in Ireland’s wind ambitions.
In Dublin, member countries of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) have announced an ambitious goal in offshore wind power, in a bid to move Europe toward energy independence.
The nine NSEC countries have agreed to reach at least 260GW of offshore wind energy by 2050. This represents more than 85pc of the EU-wide ambition of reaching 300GW by the same year.
NSEC’s 2050 goal also has intermediate targets of at least 76GW by 2030 and 193GW by 2040. Within these non-binding targets, Ireland aims to hit 7GW by 2030, 15 to 20GW by 2040 and 37GW by 2050.
Energy Ministers from the nine NSEC countries and the European Commission made the announcement at a meeting in Dublin yesterday (12 September).
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan, TD, said The North Atlantic and North Sea comprise “some of the windiest locations on the globe”.
“It is our greatest collective resource of continuous energy and it is momentous that we have agreed today to be ambitious in our targets, as a collective,” Ryan said.
“Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the consequential energy price shock and security of supply crisis has shown us how crucial it is that we move away, as quickly as possible, from our reliance on expensive and ransomed fossil fuels.”
“No one has ever weaponized access to the sun or the wind. We need to move off fossil fuels as fast as possible, for our security, for our society,and for our economy”
Kicking off the session ‘establishing an efficient and residential global supply chain for offshore renewables’ pic.twitter.com/WStObJfGUV
— Eamon Ryan (@EamonRyan) September 12, 2022
Offshore wind in Cork
Meanwhile in Ireland, a new report suggests that Cork has the potential to be a key location for Ireland’s offshore wind ambitions.
The report by Wind Energy Ireland found that wind farms in Cork paid around €7.2m in commercial rates to Cork County Council this year. The report also found that Cork communities received €437,000 in direct community benefit funding in 2020.
Launching the report, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence Simon Coveney, TD, said onshore and offshore wind present significant opportunities in “job creation, investment in the local economy and rural and coastal community support”.
“Cork’s growing wind sector can play a vital role in helping us to achieve our national renewable energy targets set out in the Climate Action Plan,” Coveney said.
The report said several ports in Cork have the potential to be used as operations and maintenance bases for offshore wind farms in the county. Wind Energy Ireland said the commercial and job creation opportunities are “vast”.
“Wind farms in Cork are creating jobs, supporting rural communities and investing in Cork’s economy,” said Wind Energy Ireland CEO Noel Cunniffe. “An enormous opportunity now exists for a whole new industrial sector to emerge in Cork – a wind energy sector which can benefit everyone.”
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