Codling Wind Park submits plans for significant offshore project

Codling Wind Park is currently the largest Phase 1 offshore renewable energy project in the Republic.

Ireland’s troubled offshore wind sector has been bolstered by Codling Wind Park’s plans to officially submit its planning application for a major project off the coast of Wicklow.

Codling Wind Park is currently the largest Phase 1 offshore renewable energy project in the Republic and is expected to generate capacity of 1,300 megawatts (MW) to power around one million homes with clean energy.

The owners of the project, which is a 50/50 joint venture between Norwegian firm Fred Olsen Seawind and EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of the French utility EDF, said the application marks a significant milestone for the development of Ireland’s offshore renewable sector and national climate policy.

In May 2020, the Government designated six offshore wind projects which had been in development for some time as ‘Relevant Projects’ in the context of the Maritime Area Planning Bill which was then being developed and is now enacted.

These projects, including Codling Wind Park, are now referred to as Phase One offshore wind ventures and will be prioritised through the new grid and relevant State auction regimes in order to contribute to the delivery of the Government target of 5 gigawatts (GW) of grid-connected offshore wind by 2030.

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“The project that is being put forward for planning strikes the right balance between environmental considerations and technical feasibility, as well as different environmental constraints,” said Codling Wind Park project director Scott Sutherland.

Subject to the the planning approval from An Bord Pleanála, Codling Wind Park said it plans to begin construction by 2027 if not slightly earlier and start generating power by 2030. The renewable venture is set to create 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and approximately 75 long-term operations and maintenance roles.

The owners forecasted that the project will also reduce Irish energy generation emissions and account for just over one quarter of Ireland’s entire 2030 target for grid-connected offshore energy.

However, developments in the renewable energy sector have previously being mired with delays in the planning process. Industry representative body Wind Energy Ireland has urged the government to add skilled staff to local authority planning departments to assess an increasing amount of planning applications.