SSE Renewables completes Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 survey with Green Rebel

- Completion of the survey is a key milestone for the Arklow project -

SSE Renewables, in partnership with Green Rebel, has completed a survey of the seabed off the east coast of Ireland, to collect high resolution geophysical data at the proposed 800MW Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 Wind Park site. Green Rebel, a Cork based offshore survey service company, was awarded the tender following a competitive process.

The completion of the survey is a key milestone for the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 project and will help progress the ongoing design development of the project. The data collected from the survey will inform important engineering decisions and help to de-risk the project which will make a significant contribution to Ireland’s climate action target of 7GW of offshore wind by 2030.

While the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 is a challenging site to survey due to the metocean conditions in this area of the Irish Sea, Green Rebel successfully managed to acquire almost 2000km of data supported by its vessels, the Roman Rebel and the Lady Kathleen (a specialist nearshore survey vessel).

The collaboration was built on the value that the two companies share on putting safety first, highlighted by the nomination of Green Rebel for a prestigious internal SSE health and safety award. This collaborative approach extended to other stakeholders in the area, as demonstrated by the team diverting from surveying activities to help local fishers identify lost fishing gear.

John O’Sullivan, Project Manager for SSE Renewables, said: “The completion of this phase of survey work represents another important milestone for the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 project.  Green Rebel’s support has allowed us to secure this important site data to progress design development and keep the project on track to support delivery of the Irish Government’s target of 7GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 team is now focussed on bidding into ORESS ahead of making a planning application to An Bord Pleanála later this year. We will also be running a public consultation in the coming months.”

”Eoin Cotter, Head of Business Development with Green Rebel said: We were delighted to partner with SSE Renewables on this project which will play a significant role in helping Ireland to make the transition from fossil fuels. While the Arklow Bank presents unique challenges as a site, the local experience and industry expertise of our offshore and onshore teams ensured the successful and safe completion of the survey works. Using non-invasive sensors and Green Rebel’s fleet of survey vessels, our team collaborated with multiple stakeholders to ensure we acquired and processed the data to the highest international standards. This will enable SSE Renewables to progress with the environmental and engineering design of this critical project for Ireland's energy transition.”