'Disappointing' timeline for Waterford wind farm says Energia

The likely five-year wait to begin construction at the ‘Tonn Nua’ offshore wind site in Waterford has been described as “disappointing” by the Managing Director of Energia Renewables, Peter Baillie, ahead of the state auction in June. He has called on the government to fast track the development timeline.

The “Tonn Nua” site, 12 kilometres off the Waterford coast, will be the State’s second auction under its offshore renewable electricity support scheme (ORESS). It is set to deliver 900 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, saving 1.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year after construction.

Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said on the announcement of the auction that he expected the winning wind farm would become operational by 2032, if not quicker. 

The auction is set to begin in June with a decision expected by prospective bidders to be announced in July. 

The winning bidder for the Tonn Nua site will be required to provide a €140 million local benefit fund, €7 million per year of the wind farm's expected operation.

Speaking to regional stakeholders at an Offshore Wind conference at Waterford Port, Energia Renewables outlined their intention to bid in the auction to deliver the Tonn Nua windfarm site alongside Vårgrønn – a Norwegian-Italian renewable energy joint venture between Plenitude and HiTech Vision – which is involved in the delivery of a series of offshore wind farms in Northern Europe.

“Energia and Vårgrønn have done the most work, we are the most informed bidders in this auction,” Baillie said.

“We have a uniquely comprehensive understanding of the offshore environment off the southeast coast, and we can deliver the Tonn Nua wind farm faster than our competitors if successful in our bid."

The Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council, Sean McKeown told the conference that he is aware of “at least two consortiums” preparing bids for the Tonn Nua auction later this year.

Mr Baillie told the Waterford News & Star that there will be a delay of “up to five years” before construction can begin at Tonn Nua following the auction process. 

“There were opportunities to fast-track that, so it is disappointing that we could be five years waiting.”

Mr Baillie said that the “disappointing” delay before construction, which is subject to determination from EirGrid, is “a product of the policy and move to a plan-lead approach, and we would welcome engagement with the new government on opportunities to accelerate this timeline.”

Baillie called on the government to address the “urgent need” to develop a “credible pipeline of projects for developers and the supply chain to see a real opportunity” in order to attract and give confidence to potential investors including a “substantial investment” into the country’s ports.

He said that a lack of confidence for investors through a lack of “realistic plans for energy grid capacity” is causing “a risk that the momentum in Ireland for the Tonn Nua auction will quickly fall away”.

In light of Storm Éowyn and other weather events, Baillie said it is an “increasingly challenging environment” to operate in, noting that the recent storm had seen consistent wind speeds above 150km/h.

“We have done our homework,” Baillie said, noting Energia has installed numerous sensors in the designated area to inform their bid through the collection of “amazing data on the site conditions”.

The first ORESS-1 auction procured more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity from four offshore wind projects – enough to power 2.5 million Irish homes at an average of €86.05/megawatt hour.

The Tonn Nua auction will be the first under the State’s first spatial plan for offshore renewable development, specifically the south coast designated maritime area plan (D-map). It identifies four areas off the Wexford and Waterford coast for development over the next decade. 

The four proposed zones off the south east coasts of Waterford and Wexford are Tonn Nua, Lí Ban, Manannán and Danu.