Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
348. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of planned offshore wind farms; the stages of progression in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74746/25]
View answerGovernment is committed to having 5 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in development by 2030, with a longer-range target of 20 gigawatts by 2040.
Five offshore wind projects off our East coast, with planned capacity of 3.8 gigawatts, are at present in development, with planning determinations anticipated by the end of 2026. It is anticipated that these projects will be in construction by 2030 and operational by 2031/32.
In December 2025, I announced that a consortium of ESB and Orsted had won my Department’s second offshore wind auction and will be developing a 900-megawatt project off the coast of Waterford. This project was the first of four to be brought to auction from the South Coast DMAP, designated by the Oireachtas in October 2024 for offshore wind development off the coasts of Cork, Waterford and Wexford.
My Department is currently developing proposals for an auction of the second site, Lí Ban, with potential capacity of up to 1.5 GW. My Department is working closely with Eirgrid to develop grid connection options and is separately commissioning surveys of the Lí Ban site to inform the auction. The remaining sites will follow soon after.
In September 2025, my Department started the process of developing a National DMAP that will designate sufficient additional sites around our coast to deliver on the 2040 target of 20 GW. This process will be completed by the end of 2027.
