• Project

An extensive site selection process and feasibility study was undertaken in late 2021 to identify potential offshore wind farm sites further offshore. This involved analysing a range of issues including water depth, wind data, existing wind farms, oil and gas operations, designated sites, fisheries, cable and pipelines, archaeology and aggregate resource constraint considerations.

Details

The Péarla Offshore Wind Farm is one of Inis Offshore Wind’s proposed offshore wind projects. It is at a very early stage. Work began in late 2021 in response to the Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan.




Location

 The site is proposed to be located a minimum 40km off the Waterford and Wexford Coast.

Site Area

 The site area is 275km² however the ultimate site will be refined over time and the eventual wind farm area will be substantially less, and potentially half this area.

Capacity

 Should the project successfully progress through planning to construction, it is hoped that capacity of up to 1000MW can be brought into production by 2030 generating green electricity for 900,000 homes.

Foreshore Investigation Licence Application

In October 2022, a Foreshore Investigation Licence (FSIL) application was submitted to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to conduct surveys on the Cable Area of Search for the proposed export cable for the windfarm. A separate Licence application will be prepared for submission to Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), upon establishment in 2023, to cover the wind farm array area.





Outcome

The outcome of the site investigation surveys in conjunction with desktop studies, will assist in determining the possibility of developing an offshore wind farm in this area. This work will also be used to inform the refined area for the wind farm within the licence boundary and will provide the baseline data for the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) for the planning application.

Planning

Should the site be deemed suitable, Inis Offshore Wind aim to seek a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) from MARA and development planning permission for the project from An Bord Pleanala at the appropriate time under the terms of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021.

Application

The application documents submitted to the Department will be posted on this page when the application is accepted by the department. A link to the application on the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s website can be found here when published.




Project Map

The site is proposed to be located a minimum 40km off the Waterford and Wexford Coast. The site area is 275km² however the ultimate site will be refined over time and the eventual wind farm area will be substantially less, and potentially half this area.