Offshore energy specialist SBM Offshore is evaluating the region’s offshore potential for the proposed 400MW North Channel Wind floating project.
Work is underway on a bid to open a multimillion-pound offshore floating wind farm off the coast of Northern Ireland by 2029.
We believe Northern Ireland will be one of the cheapest places to build floating offshore wind anywhere in the British Isles, said Niamh Kenny, project director.
Two sites in the North Channel, are being considered for the development. It is projected that the construction may start in 2027 and the project would be operational by 2029. Both the sites together would generate a combined 400MW, representing 13 per cent of Northern Ireland’s energy needs and up to 57 per cent of domestic requirement.
Niamh said “It’s got very good wind speeds yet it has a benign environment in the sense there are very little waves and where we’re building there is no particularly strong tides either so the level of availability is much higher than it would be in the north of Scotland and that reduces the price.”
“We believe Northern Ireland will be one of the cheapest places to build floating offshore wind anywhere in the British Isles and hopefully that will be eventually reflected in the overall cost of electricity here in Northern Ireland,” she added.
SBM Offshore for their significantly reduced environmental impact while project constructing have been described as “particularly well-suited to the Irish Sea”.
