Agreement between Rosslare Europort, ESB over offshore energy

A Memorandum of Agreement was completed today at Rosslare which provides for co-operation on plans to support wind projects in the Celtic and Irish Seas.

This follows an announcement last year by Rosslare Europort that it intends to become Ireland's offshore energy hub, providing the renewable energy sector with the necessary onshore infrastructure to support wind farm projects planned offshore.

Iarnród Éireann, which is the port authority for Rosslare Europort, and ESB have agreed to work together to develop a port solution which would support ESB's offshore plans.

Work which port management hope to carry out in Rosslare includes a purpose-built quay and berth for offshore energy purposes; quayside storage; a navigable channel dredged to a minimum of 9-11 metres in depth; and management offices and control centre for operations and maintenance.

"Rosslare Europort is excited to work with ESB," port authority director Glenn Carr said, "whose vision for the potential of ORE [offshore renewable energy] aligns with our own.

"We believe there are strong synergies to be achieved as we work together to place this renewable energy industry at the heart of Ireland's decarbonised future."

ESB's head of offshore wind and hydrogen, Paul Lennon, said ESB has "ambitions plans" for the development of renewable projects "to support the renewable targets set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023 and ESB's Net Zero by 2040 corporate strategy".

He added that the company is looking forward to ensuring that suitable port infrastructure is available at Rosslare, "to enable the successful delivery of these projects".

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers, said offshore renewable energy is "integral" to meeting Ireland's climate change ambitions.

"A multi-port approach to the provision of port infrastructure will facilitate the development of ORE in Ireland which will help maximise the economic benefits at regional as well as national level in terms of the creation of jobs and new SME enterprise that can support the development of the ORE industry."