Sustainability and Climate Impact: How offshore wind fits into Ireland’s commitments to climate action

Harnessing the Déise - a monthly series in Waterford News & Star funded by Coimisiún na Meán

Where were you when you first realised climate change was already happening? Enjoying a balmy summer evening in Dunmore East, or maybe appreciating the air conditioning as the mercury hit 40+ degrees in Spain? Or perhaps it was watching the Comeragh Mountains burn from your bedroom window?

After a record-breaking summer, Met Eireann has provisionally confirmed that September was Ireland’s second-warmest on record. People are now braced for a winter of storms that seem to get more intense with each passing year. We have been told about melting ice caps and rising sea levels for years but meteorological experts say warmer, wetter, windier weather is now our lived experience of climate change in action.

Unsurprisingly, conversations around climate change have switched from having a noble bent to a palpable undertone of urgency. Ahead of next month’s COP31, the annual global climate summit, Irish Climate Minister Darragh O’Brien was unequivocal when he said “the moment to act is now”.

“COP31 must be the turning point where commitments become tangible reality,” commented the Minister. “Because climate change spares no country, true climate resilience requires global cooperation. The EU stands ready to lead on crucial issues such as the transition from fossil fuels and accelerating the clean energy transition through ambitious, coordinated and strategic action.”

Climate urgency but are we ready?

Ireland does have ambitious targets in this space, with a stated aim of reducing carbon emissions by 51 percent by 2030 (compared with 2018 levels) and reach “net zero” by 2050. The goal, as per the Climate Action Plan, is also to achieve 22GW of total renewable capacity, including 5GW of offshore wind, 9GW of onshore wind, and 8GW of solar by 2030. The Climate Action Plan also includes a target of increasing the share of electricity generated from renewable sources to 80 per cent in 2030 – around double the current proportion. By 2040, the aim is to scale up to 20GW of offshore wind by 2040 and reach 37GW by 2050.

Yet while notable progress has been made with clear commitment from Government, climate critics might argue that much more could be done in terms of accelerating these efforts, with many of these targets set to be missed – some by a long shot.

According to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in May this year, Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by up to 25 percent by 2030, far short of the target of 51 percent, and this is only with full implementation of a wide range of policies and plans across all sectors. More recently, a damning report by the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) concluded Ireland’s climate resilience planning and preparation “does not match the scale or urgency of the risks the country now faces”.

Ireland is already living with the consequences of a changing climate, said Professor Peter Thorne, chair of the Council’s Adaptation Committee.

“This year alone, we have moved from severe flooding and prolonged rainfall to exceptional heat and drought-like conditions. We are not prepared for either extreme.”

The priority, Prof Thorne said, must be in attaining the promised emissions reductions.

“Government must accelerate mitigation actions while also taking action to protect society from the coming storm. Adaptation is not an alternative to getting off our addiction to fossil fuels.”

Yet the Council predicts that by 2030, industrial emissions will be just 11.6 percent below their 2018 levels – far short of the Government’s target of a 35 percent reduction.

It is also widely accepted that Ireland will not have 5GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. The hope, however, is that by then we will have more than 5GW in advanced stages of development and more than 1GW in production.

Climate action in Waterford

Waterford City and County Council has a dedicated Climate Action team responsible for driving carbon neutrality, energy efficiency, and local community engagement. Gráinne Kennedy, the team’s climate action coordinator, is involved in a raft of measures that are aiming to tackle decarbonisation. This includes retrofitting public buildings and social housing, plus efforts around coastal erosion and flood planning. Kennedy tells the Waterford News & Star that the council will fund around 40 projects this year, covering renewable energy in community buildings and nature-based flood solutions.

And while the overall thrust is climate action, the benefit of retrofitting is an immediate one for people finding it difficult to cover their energy costs, Kennedy says.

“People in Waterford are experiencing energy poverty, and to be able to retrofit a house so they’re not under pressure with their energy bills, that’s phenomenal.”

Waterford has committed to carbon neutrality by 2040, and although it missed out on EU Mission City status, it works in the same spirit as Cork and Dublin. Public attitudes to climate change and decarbonisation efforts are overwhelmingly positive across Waterford, Kennedy believes.

The EPA runs a national survey every year called “Climate change in the Irish Mind”.

This survey has identified four broad audience segments within the Irish population, what they call “the Four Irelands”, based on their deep feelings about climate change.

These are The Alarmed, The Concerned, The Cautious and The Doubtful. Kennedy isn’t sure she has met a member of the Doubtful.

“I have been in this job for four years now and I don’t think I’ve ever come across blatant negativity about it.”

At a recent Community Climate Action Programme launch, Kennedy asked attendees to guess how many people in Waterford were worried about climate change.

“They all underestimated how many,” she says. “There is a high level of awareness here.”

She points towards Ardmore in West Waterford recently being named Ireland’s greenest place.

“I’m sure in Ardmore if you ask that question, if you know how many people care about climate change, I would say they would actually get it right because in that community they’re all talking about it together but they’re talking about it in a practical way.”

When climate awareness and offshore wind farms collide

The high level of awareness around climate change means Kennedy meets many engaged people at community events. Lots of them, she says, have questions about the proposed wind farms off Waterford’s coast and how this might impact the area, its environment and its communities. Attitudes tend to be mixed.

“People are particularly wanting to know how a community benefit fund might work and I can only give the example of what’s happened on the onshore wind,” she notes. “Then there’s some communities that we’ve spoken to who see this as a real opportunity. They are asking about jobs and education linked to offshore development, and realising there is potential for some great jobs for local people in the future.”

Where does offshore wind fit in?

September may have gone into the history books as an unseasonably mild month, but it also saw records broken for wind power generation. Some 37 per cent of Ireland’s energy demand was supplied by onshore wind farms during the month. But Ireland is still burning imported fossil fuels while we effectively waste much of our natural wind resource.

“Ireland has one of the best offshore wind resources in the world and Government is committed to developing our offshore assets and supporting this with the grid infrastructure required,” a spokesperson for the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) tells the News & Star.

“As well as contributing to the wider goal of a net-zero emissions future and safeguarding energy security, offshore wind has the potential to revolutionise our energy systems.”

While there are five “legacy” wind projects to be developed first, Tonn Nua, the wind farm proposed to cover an area 300km2 off the Copper Coast, and the first designated under the new Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP), will play a huge role when it comes to helping Ireland meet its climate targets. It is expected to deliver approximately 900 MW of renewable generation capacity, enough to power up to one million homes, and is expected to annually avoid around 1.8 million tonnes of CO emissions once operational.

“Tonn Nua will be a very significant contributor to cutting the carbon emissions driving the global climate emergency while providing Irish families and businesses with clean, affordable and secure power,” says Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland.

According to the departmental spokesperson, the DCEE is currently working on updating the Future Framework for ORE, which sets out the long-term vision for ORE (Offshore Renewable Energy) development in Ireland.

Tonn Nua is just the first site identified by the South Coast DMAP, and is also known as Maritime Area A. Area B (Lí Bán) will be next to go to auction, followed by C (Mannanán), and D (Danu). The Department is also currently developing the National ORE DMAP, which will designate a further 15 GW of ORE generation by 2040. A recent stakeholder meeting held in Galway in late September outlined all the potential areas identified as part of the national DMAP process. Going from A to V, this includes 22 sites covering almost 25,000km2. The spokesperson for the DCEE confirmed the entire map will go out to statutory public consultation in early 2027, and the draft renewable energy areas will then be refined further to approximately 7,500 square kilometres.

“We are prioritising the development of more renewable electricity, both onshore and offshore, including reforming the planning system to make it easier to build clean energy projects,” added the spokesperson. “An overall capacity of 20GW of offshore renewable energy by 2040 is enough to power every Irish home and more, so the introduction of the National DMAP has the potential to be the most transformative energy initiative of our generation.”

Offshore wind energy - the facts 

• Ireland currently gets approximately one-third of its electricity from onshore wind energy, with over 5,500 MW of installed onshore wind capacity currently in the system across more than 300 wind farms. There is a further 450MW in construction and 2,500 MW of projects with planning permission.
• Ireland gets a larger proportion of its electricity from onshore wind than any other country in Europe.
• Kerry is the top-producing county for wind power, followed by Cork and Galway.
• Onshore is relatively less expensive and more straightforward to build, but offshore, winds are much higher and more consistent, producing more power.
• The global offshore market grew on average by 10% each year over the past decade. It now provides 92.5 GW of energy in total, which accounts for around 7 per cent of total global wind capacity (as of the end of 2025). It is estimated that China is responsible for more than 50 per cent of offshore wind farms.
• The World Bank estimates that there is around 71,000 GW of fixed and floating offshore wind potential worldwide, using current technology.
• Ireland has ambitious offshore renewable energy (ORE) targets, with the aim of creating at least 37GW of ORE generation capacity by 2050.
• Ireland’s first offshore wind farm, the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 1, became operational in 2005. It remains the only offshore wind to ever provide energy to the national grid. It ceased operating in 2024 due to safety concerns and plans for its dismantling were recently announced.
• The average height of offshore wind turbines is currently about 250m to 280m (measured from sea level) but this is increasing as the technology develops, meaning projects may have fewer but taller turbines.
• Tonn Nua (which means New Wave) or Maritime Area A is the first of four sites identified as part of the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy. Areas B, C and D are further out to shore and will be developed at later dates.

This is the second installment of a 12-part series on offshore wind energy, funded by Coimisiún na Meán, which appears monthly in the Waterford News & Star