Ireland has the opportunity to become a global leader in offshore renewable electricity generation. The excellent wind speeds in the Irish Sea and favourable foreshore conditions provide the ideal environment to generate low carbon electricity for the Island of Ireland. Codling Wind Park has an ambition to deliver this, at scale, for Ireland. Our project will deliver 26 % of the 2030 target of 5 GW of grid-generated offshore wind energy, set out in the country’s Climate Action Plan 2023.
Development
The Codling Wind Park project is currently in the development stage, and since 2021, a range of significant project milestones have been achieved. The project team aims to submit its planning application and EIA report to An Bord Pleanála in 2024. Consultation and engagement have informed an important part of this process, and the project will continue to engage with the communities and stakeholders throughout all stages of development, construction and operations.
In order deliver Ireland’s largest offshore wind park, there are a series of consents that the Codling project must secure:
- Foreshore investigation licence (under the Foreshore Act 1933) – granted in February 2021
- Maritime Area Consent (under the Marine Planning and Development Management Act) – granted in 2022
- Onshore and offshore planning permission/consent(s) – to be submitted in 2024
In May 2020, Codling was confirmed as having Relevant Project status – now referred to as Phase 1 status – under the Transitional Protocol published as part of the proposed Marine Planning and Development Management Act (MPDM).
In December 2022, Codling Wind Park was awarded a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
The awarding of the MAC allowed Codling Wind Park to participate in the first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) – a competitive auction process which the project successfully achieved in May 2023.
An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) will be produced to inform a planning application for the project. If successful, Codling will be awarded planning development consent under the MPDM, leading to the completion of one of the conditions of the Maritime Area Consent.
Six offshore wind projects were issued Maritime Area Consents (MACs) in December 2022. The projects underwent the Offshore Renewable Energy Support Scheme (ORESS) qualification process, and then bid in their price to the auction which was overseen by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator.
The results of the auction awarded four projects with a combined capacity of 3GW, with a route to market for the electricity they produce. In simple terms, the four projects agreed a price with the customer for the electricity they will produce and the customer, in this case the Irish grid, agreed to purchase that electricity.
The auction was designed to drive competition between bidders. The lower the price they bid the better their chances of succeeding. This meant the customer, ultimately the Irish consumer, paid a lower price. The hugely competitive price secured, at an average of €86.05/MWh, is one of the lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world. It is expected that this price will save Irish electricity consumers hundreds of millions of euros per year.
Codling Wind Park was one of the successful projects in Ireland’s first ORESS auction. Minister Eamon Ryan said it was a “breakthrough moment” for Ireland’s offshore wind future. He also said it is “a hugely positive story not just for Irish energy consumers, but for Ireland as a whole. The results are further evidence of what many of us have known for a long time; that we, as a nation, can develop and produce enormous quantities of clean energy – securely and at low cost.
Consultation & Stakeholder Engagement
Since the start, the Codling Wind Park Project team has been committed to actively informing and engaging with interested groups and the general public to facilitate our decision-making process, in line with international best practice for project development.
Our primary objective has always been to ensure that stakeholder engagement is conducted in an open, transparent, and inclusive manner. A key focus at all times is to provide all stakeholders, including communities and fisheries groups, with a clear and authentic representation of the project at each stage of development.
We have undertaken three phases of non-statutory consultation and engagement as an integral part of our project development process. These consultations and engagements served as an essential means of engaging with stakeholders, local communities, and interested parties to gather feedback, address concerns, and incorporate valuable insights into the decision-making process.
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Mariners
At Codling Wind Park, we recognise the important custodial and leadership role we have in the Codling Bank. This means building a sustainable, long term partnership with other longstanding stakeholders of the Codling Bank. It also means working with fishers and other stakeholders to avoid or minimise impacts on people and the environment, and support biodiversity. Our Sustainable Fisheries Charter provides guidance for us to deliver on these objectives. It describes what is important to us, what we want to stand for, our values and our approach to fisheries groups, other key stakeholders on the Codling Bank and the natural environment.
The Codling Fisheries Charter
- Funding: We are committed to supporting the fishers community who operate on the Codling Bank including the provision of a dedicated Fisheries Groups Fund of €500,000. The fund will have a €100,000 annual budget directed to different initiatives for the next five years, to support the fishing industry and long-term sustainable fishing on the Codling Bank.
- Engagement: Codling Wind Park is committed to engaging with fisheries groups and Codling Bank stakeholders in an open, transparent and honest way.
- Communications: Codling Wind Park will communicate regularly with fisheries groups and other Codling Bank stakeholders.
- Facilitation: Demonstration and Reassurance. Codling Wind Park will facilitate visits of fisheries groups to fishing areas in other relevant locations to exchange experiences and demonstrate and explore how successful coexistence between fishers and offshore energy can be achieved.
- Monitoring: Codling Wind Park commits to pre and post-construction monitoring of whelk and other key species on the Codling Bank.
- Marine life diversity: Given the decline in marine life diversity and numbers in the past twenty years, Codling Wind Park is examining design options to support biodiversity across the Codling Bank.
- We will actively work to avoid or minimise impacts from the project on people and the environment, and support biodiversity on the Codling Bank and environs.
Construction
Subject to all necessary permits and consents being received, Codling Wind Park could begin construction in 2027. Construction is expected to take two to three years to complete.
Operation and Maintenance
Wicklow Port has been identified as the preferred home for Codling Wind Park’s Operations and Maintenance base, the long-term facility from which the offshore wind farm will be operated and serviced.
The new base will provide offices, warehousing and vessel berthing facilities, as well as an operations control centre. This will enable the safe operation and maintenance of Codling Wind Park over its expected 30-year operational lifetime.
The location of these facilities in Wicklow Town represents a major economic boost for the area, with significant investment to be made in the development of the port facilities.
The next steps in the realisation of the Operations and Maintenance base will include site investigations and studies to assess the most suitable locations for the facilities, as well as engagement with local businesses, landowners, and other port users. A period of public consultation on the proposed plans, once they have been drafted, will take place prior to the submission of a planning application.
