NORTHERN Ireland's potential to become one of the lowest cost regions for offshore wind in Europe "is very close", an Invest NI conference will hear today.
That's what Niamh Kenny, project director of North Channel Wind, will tell the agency’s offshore wind convention in Titanic Conference Centre.
The event will highlight the north’s geographical, infrastructural and supply chain advantages for offshore wind energy development.
North Channel Wind (www.northchannelwind.com), a subsidiary of Netherlands-headquartered marine engineering specialist SBM Offshore, revealed last month that it wants to develop two offshore floating wind farms just a few miles off the Belfast coastline in what is potentially a £3 billion investment.
The project, which involves building up to 25 massive turbines feeding into either the Kilroot or Ballylumford energy plants, would also create 700 jobs and power 500,000 homes in the north by the end of this decade.
But, crucially, its progress depends on necessary approvals from the Crown Estate, which owns the UK's seabed.
Ms Kenny says: “We see rapidly changing circumstances across the global energy markets, increased pressure on supply and distribution and little if any reduction in demand.
“And now is the time for offshore wind energy to develop so that Northern Ireland and the Irish single energy market can gain advantage, move closer towards self-sustainability and to even become a net exporter of electricity.”
She added: “I’m looking forward to addressing the conference and am grateful to Invest NI for the opportunity and for highlighting the urgent need to move these proposals forward quickly.”
North Channel Wind says its new floating technologies are particularly well suited to the Irish Sea for their significantly reduced environmental impact during installation and operation when compared to conventional turbines whose foundations are on the seabed.
Ms Kenny says: “Discussions with the Stormont government, grid operator SONI, energy regulator UREGNI, Renewables NI and the Crown Estate are progressing well.
“We have also completed our site characterisation and have commenced a scoping exercise in consultation with DAERA, which is the first step in applying for a marine licence to build offshore infrastructure.”
