Joint venture to see two new offshore wind projects planned for Cork and Clare
Val Cummins, Project Managing Director for Emerald and Western Star and Ryanne Burges, Director of Offshore and Ireland at EDF Renewables at the announcement at Government Buildings. Photograph: Naoise Culhane.
Renewables energy firm, EDF and Cork developer Simply Blue have partnered up to develop two floating wind projects across the Munster coast.
Subject to merger clearance, the joint venture will generate enough low-carbon electricity to power two million homes, with the firms seeking to progress the projects to meet Irish government targets of 2GW of floating wind in development by 2030.
Located off the south coast of Cork, the Emerald Floating Wind project will have a total capacity of up to 1.3 GW. The second project, the Western Star will be located at least 35km off the west coast of Clare in waters more than 100m deep, with a total capacity of up to 1.3 GW.
The government has committed to generating 7 GW of electricity from offshore wind by 2030, with chief executive of EDF Renewables UK and Ireland, Matthieu Hue, saying they were "looking forward to working closely with Simply Blue Group to deliver on the two projects’ great potential to make a significant contribution to the Irish Government’s renewable energy goals.”
Operating for more than 35 years, EDF Renewables is one of the world's largest electricity companies, with a number of existing projects involving offshore wind and solar energy across Ireland. It owns half of the massive wind project called Codling Wind Park off the Wicklow coast, which is by far the largest of six offshore projects that the Government is initially relying on to generate huge amounts of renewable sources of energy by a deadline of just eight years from now.
Its partner, Simply Blue is a Cork-headquartered developer specialising in replacing fossil fuels with clean ocean energy. Employing more than 100 people, the firm has offices across Cork, Dublin, the UK, Germany, Spain, the US and Canada.
"Simply Blue are delighted to partner with EDF Renewables to deliver these strategic assets and to deliver Ireland’s first floating offshore wind farms," said chief executive of Simply Blue, Sam Roch Perks.
"As an international renewable energy company, EDF Renewables are major players in the energy transition worldwide, ensuring alignment with Simply Blue’s culture and commitment to making a positive impact on climate, biodiversity, and coastal communities."
