Offshore wind to meet Ireland’s 2020 target

Ireland must use 1,000 MW of offshore wind by 2020 to comply with our 40% EU renewable electricity target.

NOW Ireland calculations show that Ireland will reach its 2020 RES-E target of 40% only by utilising approximately 1,000 MW of Irish offshore wind for domestic purposes. The cost of installing offshore wind turbines has fallen dramatically during 2016 and so it is now an opportune time to use this resource.

EU Commission officials have indicated that under EU Energy Union, Ireland will be expected to contribute whatever renewable energy that it can to the overall EU drive to decarbonise and to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. All our neighbouring EU member states with a significant wind energy resource, particularly the UK, have made remarkable progress in using their offshore wind resources.

It is now clear that there are problems with overall Irish decarbonisation project, particularly with agricultural emissions and transport. NOW Ireland argues that when Government is negotiating flexibility on 2020 and 2030 targets with the EU, it will be imperative that Ireland is seen to maximise its decarbonisation effort in areas where it can do so.

One obvious example of where Ireland can maximise its effort is the realisation of the clearly large potential for offshore wind off the east coast where it can supply the existing and well-known generation shortage (and demand from new green data centres) on the east coast.

NOW Ireland – The National Offshore Wind Energy Association of Ireland was established to promote the development of Ireland’s substantial offshore wind resource and to ensure that our island leads the way in building a sustainable, green economy.

The founding companies of NOW Ireland have the potential to generate over 2600MW of energy from existing resources. To put that in context, it equates to roughly 40% of Ireland’s electricity use. The energy generated will be available to export or for domestic use.

Ireland has the resources to be a world leader in offshore wind and renewable energy in general. A NOW Ireland is working every day to promote the potential of this industry both at home and abroad.

Now is the time to harness Ireland’s energy potential.