New offshore wind policy is 'too conservative', warns business group
Irish To Large Developers Barriers Offshore Led Sites Projects Investments Wind Pausing Have In The For
Business across the country have expressed concern that draft policies will hold back the development of offshore projects and subsequently delay 2030 climate targets.
Chambers Ireland said the draft Offshore Renewable Energy Plan II is “too conservative” and will cause further bottlenecks for the development of an offshore wind industry across Ireland.
“We have grave concerns that his draft plan is not flexible enough to account for the dynamic technology environment which it is attempting to regulate," said Chambers Ireland head of policy Shane Conneely.
He said the Government policy proposal is, in many ways, more restrictive than the original plan.
The business group recommended that the State supports the upgrade of Ireland’s national transmission network through greater investment in the physical capital of the grid, the capacity of regulatory authorities, and the resourcing of planning bodies.
Chambers of Commerce and other organisations including Wind Energy Ireland have ramped up lobbying recently to make the development of offshore windfarms simpler, as many in the industry have faced a series of roadblocks.
Last month, Government controversially introduced new regulations which could become further stumbling blocks for offshore wind targets to be met by 2030.
One of the new regulations requires that all future offshore windfarms must be built in 'Designated Marine Areas', which have yet to be identified and may not be for 18 to 24 months.
The barriers for offshore wind projects have led to developers pausing large investments in Irish sites.
Ireland head of offshore at SSE Renewables, Barry Kilcline, said he was aware of “at least two” significant investment decisions that had been abandoned as a result of the policy change.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB