Oriel Wind Farm

Oriel Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm in the northwestern Irish Sea. The project is associated with Oriel Windfarm Limited, a privately owned Irish renewable energy company.

Oriel Wind Farm
CountryIreland
LocationSoutheast of Dundalk, Irish Sea
Coordinates53.918°N 6.068°W / 53.918; -6.068
StatusProposed
Construction cost€900 million to €1 billion (proposed)[1]
Wind farm
TypeOffshore
Max. water depth15–30 m (49–98 ft)
Distance from shore7.8 km (4.8 mi)
Site area28 km2 (11 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational55 X 6 MW
Nameplate capacity
  • 375 MW

According to a 2007 press release, the proposed farm is due to be located near Clogherhead, approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Dundalk, County Louth, and approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) northeast of Drogheda.[2] The farm takes its name from the ancient Kingdom of Oriel.

Environmental impact

Detailed surveys and studies of the physical, ecological, and human environment at the proposed wind farm site have been carried out since 2003. These included geotechnical assessments of the area and surveys of birds flying above the site.[3]

Construction

In 2007, the proposed developers suggested that if permission was obtained, "construction could commence as early as Autumn 2009".[2] However, as of 2014, the project was on hold pending talks between the Irish and UK governments on exporting the electricity to the UK.[4]

In July 2015, the companies Oriel Windfarm and Gaelectric announced a proposed co-development of a 15MW demonstration project, to potentially include the development of a research and development hub for offshore energy. The two companies suggested that the project, termed the North Irish Sea Array, had the potential to produce 870MW of electricity.[5]

Output

If completed as per the 2007 proposals, the wind farm would reportedly be capable of generating up to 330 megawatts of electricity.[2] The generated electricity could be fed into the Irish national electrical grid, with some of the output exported via interconnector to the UK and European energy markets.[2]

References
  1. "UK to plug into green Irish energy". The Irish Times. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  2. "Major offshore wind farm planned off Louth, Ireland in the North Irish Sea". finfacts.com. 1 August 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007.
  3. "Oriel Windfarm Ltd - Offshore Wind Farm - Environmental Impact Statement - Non-technical Summary" (PDF). Oriel Windfarm Ltd. January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2007.
  4. "Irish wind farms confident they'll achieve deal for exports to the UK". independent.ie. 15 March 2014.
  5. Percival, Geoff (9 July 2015). "Ireland set to become €8bn renewable energy hub". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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