Four sites for cluster of powerful offshore wind farms off the south coast revealed

Four sites, two off the Waterford coast and two off south Wexford, have been selected as part of the country’s first Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP).

The nearest to shore is Tonn Nua (New Wave), an area of 312 square kilometres that is 12.2km from its closest point to land in Co Waterford.

The others range from 27km at their closest point to 52km at the furthest.

They have been given names from Irish mythology. Lí Ban, named after the mermaid saint, is also off Waterford, while Manannán, a sea god, and Danu, goddess of nature, are both off south Wexford.

A six-week public consultation on the plan began yesterday and barring significant changes, it will be brought before the Oireachtas for approval in July.

All four sites are designated for fixed-bottom turbines that will be drilled into the seabed.

Tonn Nua will be the first opened to development, with the Government seeking a wind farm capable of generating 900MW of electricity.

That is about one-fifth of what the entire country uses in a day, and will need about 60 turbines.

An auction to pick a successful developer is to be held in the autumn.

The winning project will then have to go through planning, but Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said he was confident it could be built by 2030 or shortly after.

Six other wind farms, five off the east coast and one off Galway, are due to be submitted for planning approval this summer.

They are on sites chosen by developers before the DMAP system was devised and have been exempted from DMAP restrictions in a race to increase the supply of renewable electricity before legally binding climate action targets take effect in 2030.

The four DMAP sites were chosen from a survey of 8,000 square kilometres of sea stretching from Rosslare, Co Wexford to Courtmacsherry, in West Cork.

Several companies which had already begun preliminary investigations off Waterford and Wexford are expected to bid in the auction for Tonn Nua and subsequent auctions for the other sites.

Several other companies had begun investigating the seas off Cork but will not be permitted to progress plans there.

Mr Ryan said Cork would benefit from development associated with the projects as half the electricity generated would be brought ashore in Cork.