Ireland to launch second offshore wind tender with upgraded capacity target

In a statement, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (Decc) said the tender process for Oress 2.1 will start in late 2023 or early 2024 with a target of 900MW — upgraded from the initial 700MW proposed by the government in March.  

Ireland’s first offshore wind tender in May (Oress 1) awarded provisional power deals for almost 3.1GW of wind energy capacity – a majority of the government’s 2030 target for offshore wind of 5GW. 

The latest consultation document, published by Decc on 14 July, said the upgraded 900MW target would accelerate the government’s goals of generating 80% of Ireland’s electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade and fully decarbonising its energy supply by 2050. 

The auction will target new offshore wind projects in a large maritime area of the Celtic Sea off Ireland’s south-east coast, provisionally identified by Decc. 

Specific sites within the provisional area will be established during the consultation process, which Decc said would be informed “by public engagement, in particular with impacted local communities, environmental assessment, consideration of other maritime usages and activities and other statutory requirements”. 

Unlike Oress 1, which involved a competition between different projects, the second round will see bidders compete to develop a given project at a state-selected site. Decc said there will likely only be one single winning bid for each Oress 2 auction.