Major investment needed to bolster Irish ports' capability for offshore wind farms 

Wind Energy Ireland warned on the back of the research that jobs that should be available in places such as Cork and Wexford will be lost to France and Holland if Irish ports are not brought up to speed for offshore wind.

A Europe-wide study is under way on how to bolster Irish ports that are currently woefully underequipped for the impending renewable energy revolution.

Research this year has shown only Belfast is currently able to support the construction of an offshore wind farm, despite ambitious plans by the Government to ramp up renewable energy by 2030.

Specialist geotechnical engineering consultancy Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) is now tasked with identifying potential funding streams for Irish ports and will focus on several case studies across Europe where similar projects have been backed by EU states.

GDG’s recent National Ports Study, which was commissioned by renewable industry lobby group Wind Energy Ireland, found only one out of 13 major ports in the Republic and the North is ready to be used for constructing offshore wind farms. 

A key recommendation of the study was for the Government to provide additional support for ports seeking to develop their infrastructure to serve the offshore renewables sector, potentially including State funding.

Principal engineer at GDG Sarah Gibson said: “Port infrastructure to service the renewables industry is recognised as a key area requiring attention and consideration must be given to practical requirements, such as funding, to allow for successful delivery.” 

'Substantial levels of investment'

Wind Energy Ireland external affairs director Justin Moran said several national ports require "relatively substantial levels of investment" to bring infrastructure to the required levels. 

"Support from the Irish Government would help de-risk the level of upfront investment and plug any funding gaps. This new study will identify potential funding streams for Irish ports and will focus on several key case studies where similar projects have been backed by EU member states," he said.

The earlier national ports study looked at the Port of Cork, Cork Dockyard, Belfast D1, Belfast Harland & Wolff, Galway, Moneypoint, Rosslare Europort, and Shannon-Foynes. Only Belfast was deemed suitable at present.

Wind Energy Ireland warned on the back of the research that jobs that should be available in places such as Cork and Wexford will be lost to France and Holland if Irish ports are not brought up to speed for offshore wind.

This is despite Cork and Shannon being heavily touted by Environment Minister Eamon Ryan as areas that should be the big winners when it comes to offshore wind.

The Programme for Government set a target of 70% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030 and for 5GW of offshore wind by 2030, and the Climate Action Plan in November 2021 increased the target to up to 80% renewable electricity by 2030.