The government has approved the terms and conditions of Ireland’s second offshore wind auction marking another important milestone in the State’s offshore renewable energy (ORE) ambitions.
The "Tonn Nua" auction site will be located off Ireland’s south coast and will be the State's second ORE auction to take place under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS). The auction bidding process is expected to take place in early 2025 and the project will procure 900 megawatts of clean energy, making a sizable contribution to Ireland’s wider climate and renewable electricity targets. It will also save 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year after its construction.
In May 2023, the results of Ireland’s first offshore wind auction, ORESS 1, was a breakthrough moment for the State’s ORE ambitions. The ORESS 1 auction procured over 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity from four offshore wind projects - enough to power over 2.5 million Irish homes. The highly competitive price secured – at an average of €86.05/MWh (megawatt hour) – was one of the lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world.
Auction to take place within State’s first spatial plan for ORE development
The Tonn Nua auction will be the first ORE auction to be held within the State’s first spatial plan for ORE development– the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy (SC-DMAP). The SC DMAP was approved by the Oireachtas on 10 October 2024, and followed a comprehensive environmental assessment process – and an almost year-long engagement process with coastal communities and key stakeholders, including fishers, environmental NGOs and Local Authorities.
Including the Tonn Nua auction site, the DMAP identifies four maritime areas off the south coast in which offshore wind development will take place over the next decade. All four maritime areas are located off the Cork, Waterford and Wexford coast. The SC DMAP is a landmark development in forward spatial planning and a game-changer for how we manage and plan our extensive maritime area. The process is central to the plan-led approach to ORE, adopted by Government last year. This approach will ensure that ORE developments will be led by designated maritime area plans identified by Government and approved by the Oireachtas. Protecting the marine environment and biodiversity and supporting citizens reliant on the sea for their livelihood are central to the sustainable development of the State’s ORE potential.
Economic opportunity for the South Coast
The DMAP will deliver real opportunities for substantial regional development along the South Coast. An independent analysis has highlighted these potential economic benefits and employment opportunities associated with implementing the Plan - which could deliver inward investment of €4.4 billion and an estimated 49,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) years of employment to the Irish economy. The analysis further highlights that more than 65% of inward investment and employment opportunities should be captured by the south coast region. Through establishing a pipeline of future offshore wind development areas, the South Coast DMAP also brings certainty to Ireland’s burgeoning offshore wind industry, which will deploy the investments needed to accelerate the green energy transition in Ireland.
Tonn Nua will also deliver a community benefit fund of €140 million over a 20-year period
Tonn Nua will also see a community benefit fund established by the winning auction bidder, who will pay roughly €7 million per year into the fund over 20 years to communities of the south cost – totalling €140 million. The fund will support the sustainable environmental, economic, social, and cultural well-being of the local community, with grants to local clubs and other community groups and projects.
Welcoming the government's approval of the auction terms and conditions, Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications said:
"Approval of the Tonn Nua auction terms and conditions is a hugely important milestone as we look to increase our share of renewable electricity to 80% by 2030. By providing a long-term source of secure indigenous green energy, the deployment of offshore renewable energy will ensure that Ireland continues to play our part in addressing the escalating global climate emergency.
"It is a further response to the twin challenges of energy security and affordability. This auction will bolster the energy security of Ireland, safeguarding the electricity needs of our homes, hospitals, and businesses.
"I have every confidence that Tonn Nua will build upon the success of our first offshore auction in 2023, ORESS 1, which overperformed all expectations and will save Irish electricity consumers hundreds of millions of euros every year. Offshore wind is good for customers, good for the environment and good for business."
Commenting on the approval of the SC DMAP, Minister Ryan added:
"The approval from the Oireachtas for this Plan is also hugely significant milestone for Ireland and the South Coast region – and evidence that Ireland is showing real leadership in the marine space. While allowing the State to protect our marine environment and biodiversity, it will also facilitate co-existence between offshore and other marine users and activities – such aquaculture; and commercial fishing; tourism and recreation.
"Our engagement with local communities and key marine stakeholders during this plan’s consultation period has been unprecedented and has been central to the development of this plan. I would like to thank all of those who met with our officials at town hall meetings, in local authority offices, on the quayside, in schools and in their workplaces over the last 12 months.
"Ireland has enormous offshore wind potential – not only to deliver cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy to our homes and businesses – it has the potential to deliver tens of thousands of new green jobs for many communities across the State. By creating a world-class marine planning and regulatory environment, it will send the right signals to industry and investors. This will also give certainty to the public about what development should happen and where they will take place."
Notes to the Editor
Ireland’s offshore wind ambition
Climate Action Plan 2024 commits to achieving at least 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030. A further 2GW is earmarked for the production of green hydrogen and other non-grid uses. Ireland’s plan-led approach to delivering our offshore wind targets includes a number of overlapping phases:
Phase One, which corresponds to all relevant projects that were successful in the first offshore renewable electricity auction (ORESS 1)
Phase Two, an accelerated work programme, focusing on near-term delivery based on technology with proven scalability in other jurisdictions, and which will procure the additional offshore wind capacity required to meet Government’s 2030 target, and
the fully plan-led Future Framework
Designated Maritime Area plans (DMAPS)
As part of the new national plan-led regime for ORE, the establishment of DMAPs will ensure that post-Phase One ORE developments will be led by maritime spatial plans identified by Government. In doing so, it will provide a framework for the sustainable use of the State’s offshore wind resource and marine space through coordinated, coherent and transparent decision-making in relation to ORE development.
Facilitating co-existence between offshore development and fishing communities
Maximising opportunities for co-existence between ORE projects and other marine users, including fishers, has been central to the preparation of the DMAP. This will make Ireland the first country in the European Union to place equivalent statutory co-existence obligations on ORE developers to facilitate co-existence.
The South Coast DMAP puts forward four Maritime Areas, within which future deployment of fixed offshore wind (fixed-bottom turbines) may take place. These are as follows:
Tonn Nua (New Wave) is situated off the coast of County Waterford and encompasses a total marine area of 306 square kilometres. The distance to shore varies from between 12.2 kilometres along the western boundary to 12.4 kilometres along the northern boundary. Tonn Nua has a mean water depth of 57 metres, with a minimum water depth of 48 metres and a maximum water depth of 69 metres. With a typical density of 4.5MW/square kilometre, a 900MW development would use approximately 65% of the total marine space within Tonn Nua. The spatial flexibility provided will allow for windfarm layout and project boundaries to be adjusted in accordance with further required measures identified in the draft DMAP in order to address potential adverse environmental impacts. However, the scale and location of this deployment will be contingent on a range of additional factors, including further project level environmental assessments and technical analysis
Lí Ban (the Mermaid Saint) is situated off the coast of County Waterford and has a total area of 368 square kilometres, with distances to shore varying between 29 kilometres along the western boundary and 24 kilometres along the northern boundary. Lí Ban has a mean water depth of 70 metres with a minimum water depth of 65 metres and a maximum water depth of 76 metres
Manannán (a sea god associated with Ireland and a divine lord of the Tuatha Dé Dannan) is situated off the south coast of County Wexford and has a total area of 341 square kilometres. The distance to shore is approximately 25 km along the northern boundary. Manannán has a mean water depth of 69 metres with a minimum water depth of 64 metres and a maximum water depth of 72 metres
Danu (mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann people and the Celtic goddess of nature) is situated off the south coast of County Wexford and has a total area of 300 square kilometres. The distance to shore is approximately 26 km along the northern boundary. Danu has a mean water depth of 67 metres with a minimum water depth of 48 metres and a maximum water depth of 78 metres
Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce
The cross-government Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce was established by Minister Ryan to ensure a joined-up approach across government, agencies and industry – in co-ordinating the full range of activities required to maximise the economic benefits of offshore wind development to the State. The Taskforce is involved in identifying all aspects of work on the critical path to delivery of offshore wind and proactively identifying risks and managing associated mitigation measures. The key actions for 2024 under the Taskforce’s Offshore Wind Energy Programme include measures relating to DMAPs and marine planning, biodiversity, grid connection, supply chain, ports policy, skills and workforce, and regulatory consenting.
Climate Action Plan 2024
Climate Action Plan 2024 has been approved by the government and published. Climate Action Plan 2024 is the third annual update to Ireland's Climate Action Plan 2019. This plan is the second to be prepared under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and following the introduction of economy-wide Carbon Budgets and Sectoral Emissions Ceilings. The implementation of the Climate Action Plan will create jobs, new economic opportunities and protect people and the planet.
