Huge windfarm with power for nearly a million homes ‘in pipeline’

A new windfarm with enough power for nearly 850,000 homes is in the pipeline, it was announced on Monday.

Power company SSE’s Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 project in the Irish Sea is submitting an offshore planning application later this week.

The project was described as ‘the latest and most significant milestone in the delivery of SSE’s flagship Irish offshore wind farm project’.

Total investment will be up to €800million and bring hundreds of jobs in building and servicing the site off the coasts of Wicklow and north Wexford.

If planning gets the go-ahead, the 800MW Arklow Bank 2 project will ‘help play a crucial role towards a cleaner and more secure homegrown energy system for the country’, SSE said.

SSE Renewables’ James O’Hara, the project director of Arklow Bank, said: ‘Our team of over 50 renewable energy professionals, supported by a dedicated local supply chain, has been working hard to deliver SSE’s flagship Irish offshore wind farm – Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 – for almost seven years.

‘In doing so, we’re fulfilling the pioneering vision of delivering commercial scale offshore wind at Arklow Bank, which dates back almost 20 years to when the first seven turbines were installed at the site and became Ireland’s first and only operational offshore wind farm.’

The offshore wind farm will be capable of producing enough renewable energy to halt 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

The project will mean up to 56 offshore wind turbines, across 63 square kilometres on the Arklow Bank off the east coast. Each turbine would be installed on steel foundations.

The plan also involves two Offshore Substation Platforms as well as sub-sea cabling to connect the power to the national grid at Johnstown North, north of Arklow Town.

SSE hopes to start work in 2026 with electricity being produced by 2029.