A DUTCH-owned company's aspirations to construct a multi-million pound offshore floating wind farm off the coast of Belfast by the end of this decade have been boosted after the Department for the Economy and the Crown Estate agreed a statement of intent committing to new green energy sources.
Offshore energy specialist SBM Offshore revealed a year ago that it is assessing coastal potential for a proposed 400 megawatt floating project which is says will be a “game changer”, with power from an estimated 20-25 turbines connecting to shore via existing power plants at Ballylumford and Kilroot.
Those plans hinge largely on the developer being allowed assess to the bed of the Irish Sea - which is owned by the Crown - for construction work.
But the newly-agreed a statement of intent outlines the ways in which DfE and The Crown Estate will work together to create the conditions for offshore wind leasing in the Northern Ireland marine area, and follows a period of close collaboration between the two organisations.
It comes as new analysis from energy specialists Baringa showed that Northern Ireland consumers avoided paying £500 million to import gas last year because wind farms provided nearly 42 per cent of the region's electricity.
The Baringa analysis of savings in gas imports delivered by wind farms found that without wind energy in 2022, Ireland would have had to pay €2.57 billion purchasing gas, and to produce the power by burning the gas.
The savings were particularly significant on days with extremely high gas prices and large volumes of wind energy on the electricity system.
Indeed on a single day – Tuesday March 8 – the combination of island wide high winds and soaring gas prices delivered a total avoided cost of €43 million in just 24 hours.
RenewableNI Director, Steven Agnew said: “During the current cost-of-living crisis, this report shows how vital investment in renewable electricity projects is to the consumer as well as the environment.
“We are meeting the governments key targets of climate change and energy security while also providing a solution to the cost-of-living crisis.
“The gas industry itself has said they do not anticipate their prices coming down to pre-Covid levels, so we need to get off our reliance on fossil fuels and make the switch to renewables as swiftly as possible. Only then will we see reductions to electricity bills. This will also have a knock-on benefit to heat and transport costs as we electrify those industries.”
Addressing the Department for Economy’s and Crown Estate's announcement on their statement of intent, he added: “We really welcome this commitment to offshore wind in Northern Ireland - a sector which is emerging as one of the most likely economic success stories of the decade.
“In addition to generating enough electricity to power 1.6 million homes, it can generate £2.4 billion in added value and create 1,500 new jobs.
“It is invigorating for the renewables industry to see DfE and TCE laying the groundwork for building offshore wind leasing and realising these benefits for the people of Northern Ireland.”
He added: “We can’t overstate the importance of the onshore wind. We need to double the number of developments by 2030 to meet the Climate Bill target of 80 per cent renewable electricity.
“But we need to incentive investment in Northern Ireland to ensure we don’t fall behind the rest of Ireland and GB.
“We have some of the best wind in the world, both on and offshore, which our members tell us is the only reason to continue to develop here. But combined with a planning system that isn’t fit for propose, creating extensive timelines for developers, it really looks as if the government is penalising their best choice for a cleaner future.
“We need more action like today's statement of intent as a sign of government and industry working together. When we do, a cleaner, energy secure future is the reward for our citizens.”
Niamh Kenny, project director with North Channel Wind, part of SBM Offshore, has previously described Northern Ireland as a “sweet spot” for a floating wind farm.
