SSE Renewables has submitted an application to the government for a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) for the €2.5bn second phase of its Arklow Bank Wind Park offshore wind project.
The marine planning process was introduced by Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan in April as a first step in the assessment to ensure that only "the most viable offshore projects" can apply to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) for planning permission, at which point they will have to undergo environmental assessments.
Phase 2 of the Arklow Bank Wind Park is set to be located 6-13km from the Co Wicklow coastline near Arklow, and will build on the existing seven turbines, owned by GE, that make up the first phase.
SSE Renewables is aiming to deliver 800MW of energy under the plans, which will be submitted following an earlier decision by ABP this week to grant planning permission for the onshore grid infrastructure to connect Phase 2 of Arklow Bank to the electricity transmission grid.
It is expected that Arklow Bank will be completed in 2029 and would have the power to power almost 850,000 homes and offset 830bn kg of carbon emissions per year
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The submission of a MAC application means the Arklow Bank project will now progress through the new marine planning regime alongside other qualified offshore renewable energy projects in the Irish Sea and off the west coast of Ireland.
If successful, SSE will be allowed to apply for permission to build from ABP, and the application would include detailed proposals for the offshore infrastructure required, including offshore wind turbines, offshore substation platforms, and subsea cables, as well as an environmental impact assessment for the wind park’s offshore infrastructure.
The company intends to commence a draft of the environmental impact assessment later this year's as part of the project's ongoing development.
"We are continuing to make substantial progress in the development of our plans at Arklow Bank," said Barry Kilcline, director of offshore development for Ireland at SSE Renewables.
"We have already secured planning permission for the project’s onshore grid infrastructure, which is the first ever successful planning decision for any component of an offshore wind farm of scale in Ireland.
“With the submission of our MAC application for offshore infrastructure to the Irish Government, we are driving momentum in our project delivery and taking another step forward towards being able to submit a planning application to An Bord Pleanála to build out the next phase of Arklow Bank Wind Park.”
