Deirdre O Meara 
Offshore wind farm developer Simply Blue has launched the public consultation process for the latest phase of the Emerald Offshore Wind Project. This proposed floating offshore wind project will be situated more than 35km off the Old Head of Kinsale in Co. Cork and could generate up to 1.3 GWh of electricity, enough to power one million homes. The company is aiming to have this first phase delivered by 2030 as part of their commitment to help meet Ireland’s Climate Action Plan.
What is the Emerald Offshore Wind Project?
The Emerald Offshore Wind Project is a proposed floating offshore wind farm that will be located off the coast of Kinsale in Co. Cork, Ireland. If approved, it would become one of Europe’s largest offshore wind farms and could produce up to 1.3 GWh of electricity – enough to power one million homes. The project would involve 60-87 turbines located over an area of approximately 260 km2. This would make it significantly larger than any other existing or planned offshore wind farm in Europe – at least four times larger than the nearest competitor and eight times larger than any existing Irish offshore wind farm.
Simply Blue said its intention with this project is to help meet targets set out in Ireland’s Climate Action Plan that 80% of electricity generation should come from renewable sources by 2030. With this goal in mind, they are aiming for completion within 10 years from now, though their timelines are largely dependent on when Government agencies and local authorities can approve their proposals and grant permits for construction to begin.
Public Consultation Process
Simply Blue has launched a formal public consultation process on this proposal which seeks input from all interested parties including local communities, industry experts, environmentalists, NGOs and other stakeholders who this project may impact. As part of this process, they have released a comprehensive information document outlining technical details about the project such as its scope, potential impacts and ways people can submit feedback or comments on it directly to them through a dedicated website or email address provided in the document itself. They also plan on holding multiple online meetings so members of the public can ask questions about the proposal during these sessions if necessary. The consultation period ends on October 5th 2020 and Simply Blue said they will review all submitted comments before finalizing their plans for the proposed Emerald Offshore Wind Farm project thereafter.
