Developers halt Irish offshore wind plans after policy shift

The new rules threaten the nation’s target of building as much as seven gigawatts of offshore wind by the end of the decade

There are over 30 gigawatts of offshore wind projects currently in development, but only 4.4 gigawatts will be able to bid into the first Irish auction which opens next month.

Developers have started to pause large investments in Irish offshore wind parks after the Government introduced tougher rules on where they can be built.

Barry Kilcline, Ireland head of offshore at SSE Renewables, said he was aware of “at least two” significant investment decisions that had been abandoned as a result of the policy change, although he declined to say who the firms were.