Early roll-out of floating offshore wind ‘could add €14k to household energy bills over 20 years’

According to the examination, officials within the Department of the Environment estimate that it would cost consumers a further €700 on their energy bills across 20 years — leading to a total cost of around €14,000.

The calculations are based on the cost of generating electricity with these floating offshore projects, citing estimated bid prices of early projects off the North Sea, compared with the prices at Ireland’s first fixed wind turbine auctions. This is then considered against the average energy use of a home.

It comes amid calls for such projects to be progressed by Fianna Fáil’s Lisa Chambers, who is calling for the mapping of the west coast.

Last month, Ms Chambers said that Ireland has some of the “best winds in the world” and that floating offshore wind investors are “itching” to get at it.

She accused Eamon Ryan of undermining confidence in the floating offshore industry, after the Environment Minister said that the technology is not yet technically viable or available to be deployed.

Mr Ryan has estimated that it could be over 10 years until floating offshore wind technology is ready to be deployed on the west coast.

One Government source said that it would cost people a “shedload” of money if they were to go ahead with bids for floating offshore wind projects now, comparing it to when energy prices were hiked due to the rising cost of gas.

At present, the Government is focusing on developing fixed offshore wind turbines, which can be deployed in shallow waters on the east and south coasts.

Ms Chambers was critical of the analysis, saying that a slew of engineering works and mapping is required to determine costs.

“For the Department and Minister Ryan to essentially guess a figure for the cost of producing wind energy off the west coast using questionable methods and then try and use that figure as a basis to block progress and investment in the west is devious and deeply disappointing,” she said.

Meanwhile, Labour is considering making a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán, after its Meta advertising account was temporarily suspended on Wednesday evening.

A Labour spokesperson said that the party was “deeply concerned” over the matter, with the account being restored late on Wednesday after it was raised with media.