SSE to lodge plans for second windfarm off Wicklow

Energy producer SSE will this week lodge a planning application with An Bord Pleanála for offshore infrastructure needed for its planned second windfarm on the Arklow Bank off Wicklow.

The proposals will see up to 56 turbines installed, depending on the finalised design.

The total area across which the array will be built will be 63sq.km along the coasts of Wicklow and Wexford, stretching from south of Wicklow Town to north of Courtown.

It is hoped that the capacity of the windfarm will be 800MW, enough to power up to 850,000 homes a year.

“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 windfarm – Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 – for almost seven years now,” said James O’Hara, Arklow Bank Project Director at SSE Renewables.

“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 windfarm.”

“Now, we’re pleased to announce we’re submitting what we believe is a robust and compelling planning application to deliver a world class renewable energy asset at Arklow Bank using the very latest offshore technology that can generate the additional green energy Ireland needs to meet 2030 renewable energy targets in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive manner.”

The company said that subject to permission being received and a final investment decision, construction of Arklow Bank 2 could begin as early as 2026 with the first energy generated by 2029.

SSE is proceeding with the wind farm despite last year missing out on a supply contract under the State’s first offshore wind auction.

At the time the company said it would explore other routes to market.

The Maritime Area Planning Application is being submitted by Sure Partners Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of FTSE 100 listed company SSE Plc under SSE Renewables.

The company has already secured planning consent for the development of an operations and maintenance base at Arklow Harbour.

It also has permission for the development of onshore cabling and a substation that would connect the project to the national grid.

The company has estimated that Arklow Bank 2 could deliver an overall national economic benefit of up to €800m – around €400m of which will be local to the Wicklow and Wexford region.

2,300 direct and indirect jobs are also expected to be supported throughout its delivery and operational lifetime.

SSE said each turbine would be installed on steel monopile foundations and there will also be two offshore substation platforms as well as associated export, inter-array and interconnector sub-sea cabling.

This will connect the wind farm to the grid at a cabling landfall point at Johnstown North, north of Arklow Town.

However, there is concern among some locals, conservationists and the fishing community about the potential impact that this and other proposed windfarms will have on the environment in the Irish Sea and about the visual impact.

Some feel the wind farms should be further out to sea and that they are incorrectly sited.

SSE Renewables says it has also submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment Report as well as a Natura Impact Statement for the proposed development to An Bord Pleanála.