RWE to apply for development consent for 900 MW OWF under Ireland’s new law

Following Ireland’s launch of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) on 1 July, RWE Renewables announced its intention to apply for development consent to build a 900 MW offshore wind farm under the new Maritime Area Planning (MAP) legislation once the new consenting framework is established.

“We currently expect this will be in place before the end of 2021 and based on that timeline we hope to be able to submit our development consent application as soon as possible in 2022”, the developer said in a newsletter containing the latest updates on the project.

The MAP Bill, for which the Irish government says is critical to ensuring Ireland meets its ambitious offshore renewable targets, was approved by Cabinet on 29 June and will now be brought to the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) to seek enactment.

In Ireland, RWE is developing the Dublin Array offshore wind farm, located 10 kilometres from the coastline of Dublin, in a 50:50 joint venture with Saorgus Energy.

The project constitutes two of the seven projects selected last year by the Irish government to be fast-tracked through the new marine planning regime.

Once the development consent application is submitted, all of the application documents, including the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and Natura Impact Statement, will be made publicly available.

“All the details will be advertised and anyone who has signed up for our project updates will be directly notified. You will then be able to review all the information, and make statutory submissions to the consenting authority, An Bord Pleanála”, the newsletter states.

The Dublin Array joint venture expects to apply for development consent (planning permission) in the first half of the next year and to participate in the country’s Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) Offshore auction in the second quarter of 2022.

In 2023-2024, the developer plans to hold Detailed Design procurement processes and the final investment decision is expected to be reached in 2024.

As of 2025, Dublin Array would sign construction and manufacturing contracts, and enter construction phase. Subject to the project securing development consent, the wind farm could be operational by 2027.

The Dublin Array site is located on the Kish and Bray Banks, where geophysical and ecological surveys began in February and were completed ahead of schedule on 5 May.

The information from the surveys is currently being reviewed and will be used to identify ecological or archaeological features so that impacts on these can be avoided through the project design.

The Dublin Array offshore wind farm is currently planned to feature between 45 and 61 turbines and to have a capacity of up to 900 MW.