Wind Energy Ireland has called for the government to provide more funding for the planning system and for investment in port infrastructure to assist with the development of offshore wind energy projects.
In its Budget 2025 submission, the wind energy industry group said the planning system needed to be sufficiently funded to reduce delays and warned that the Budget may be the last chance to put in place the necessary resources to enable Ireland to deliver on the government’s Climate Action Plan.
“We are simply not building wind farms quickly enough to keep up with the scale of renewable energy deployment we need,” said Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland
“This means higher bills, more fossil fuel imports and even more carbon emissions.”
“Recent investments in State agencies such as An Bord Pleanála and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have improved the speed of decision-making on planning applications which is very positive.
“However, these organisations, and particularly local authority planning departments, still need more staff with the required expertise to assess an increasing amount of planning applications for critical renewable energy infrastructure like wind and solar farms.
“Giving the planning system the resources it needs to ensure applications for renewable energy and electricity grid infrastructure projects are thoroughly, but quickly, assessed is a vital investment for our future.”
Additionally, WEI has called for the establishment of an Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Port Infrastructure Fund to help finance port infrastructure for offshore wind development with at least two such ports required to achieve Ireland’s 2030 offshore wind targets.
Cunniffe said that private and EU funding raised for port infrastructure development will be insufficient or meeting climate targets.
“We expect that the first phase of Ireland’s offshore wind farms will be built in the coming years. The expansion of our ports so that they can be used to build and maintain these must happen if we want to build Irish offshore wind farms from Irish ports,” he added.
“That is why we are calling for urgent support from the Irish government to help finance the development of Irish ports by establishing a Port Infrastructure Fund to ensure that they have the financial resources they need to deliver key infrastructure in time.
“Updating the National Ports Policy to allow for this form of direct investment in our ports is also critical.”
WEI has also suggested incentives to support the development of electricity infrastructure such as energy storage following commitments by the US ($2.2bn) and the UK (£3.4bn) to invest in their electricity grids for the delivery of clean energy.
“When our wind and solar farms are generating electricity, we need a strong grid to ensure we can use it and we need long-duration energy storage so we can save the excess renewable energy for when we need it,” said Cunniffe.
“The good news is the investment is there and if government, industry and communities work closely together, we can build our energy independence and deliver more affordable, clean energy for Irish families.”
(Pic: Getty Images)