Minister: 'Many companies' eager to enter Irish offshore wind market, as Norway's Equinor axes €2bn plans

The ESB had been in a partnership to develop a €2bn wind farm off the coast of Clare — but Norway's Equinor has pulled out of the deal due to dissatisfaction with Ireland's regulatory and planning regime

The planned ESB/Equinor wind farm off the coast of Moneypoint, Co Clare, was a key component of Ireland's Programme for Government pledge to deliver 5GW of power from offshore wind by 2030. Stock picture

The Government wants to make the planning system "fit for offshore wind energy", but is "not too perturbed" at a major blow to the industry, the Public Expenditure Minister says.

Michael McGrath was speaking after the Irish Examiner revealed that leading developer Equinor has decided to pull out of the Irish market.