Ireland awards contracts for 3 gigawatts of offshore wind

Irish Times:

The first mega wind farm off the west coast of Ireland has been provisionally approved by the State as part of a strategy to power six million homes with renewable energy by 2030.

EirGrid yesterday announced the four major projects which were successful in its first offshore wind auction. They have a combined capacity of three gigawatts (GW), enough to power some 2.4 million homes. The projects have won provisional approval, with a final decision to be made later in the summer.

The four offshore wind farms, all using fixed turbines, would be the largest renewable energy projects undertaken in Ireland to date. Three are located in the sandbanks of the Irish Sea. The fourth would be located at Carraig na Sceirde (Sceirde Rocks), about 5km from the shore of Mweenish, one of the most picturesque areas in southwest Connemara.

The €2 billion Sceirde project would comprise an estimated 30 turbines spread across a wide area of the bay. The blades of each would reach 300m, equivalent to the height of the Eiffel Tower. In all, it would have a generation capacity of some 450MW.

[Harry McGee]

More: First large wind farm off west coast among four offshore energy auction winners