Arklow Bank Wind Park

Phase 2

Public Consultation 2023

Public Consultation is now closed and all feedback will be incorporated into a report to be appended to our planning application to An Bord Pleanála.

Thank you to all stakeholders who participated in our consultation, and who joined our in-person and virtual events.

Your valuable feedback will assist us in refining our plans.

About the project

Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 will be located off the coast of Arklow, Co. Wicklow. The project which is under development is planned to be the next phase of wind energy development at Arklow Bank and will have a maximum export capacity of up to 800MW. Phase 1 of the Wind Park was constructed in 2003/04 consisting of seven wind turbines with a capacity of 25.2 MW. Phase 1 is owned and operated by GE Energy under a sublease to the foreshore lease and remains the first and only operational offshore wind farm in Ireland.

Now, SSE Renewables is proposing to invest up to €3 billion to develop Arklow Bank Wind Park to its full potential.

We plan to create around 80 full-time jobs to support the operation of the new offshore wind farm.

These local jobs will be sustained over the lifespan of the wind farm and will be based out of a new purpose-built Operations and Maintenance Facility at Arklow Harbour’s South Dock.

During construction and operation, we plan to support local businesses across South Wicklow and North Wexford, including companies in the supply chain in Wicklow Port and Arklow Harbour.

Following the transfer of Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 to the MAP process in March 2022, the project has been revised to substantially increase the power generation output from the site up to 800MW. This means the project will be able to make an even more significant contribution to Ireland’s climate action target of at least 5GW by 2030, and to Ireland’s national and local economy.

A Maritime Area Consent (MAC) which grants seabed rights was granted in December 2022.

The project will be capable of powering almost 850,000 homes each year, almost double the number of homes targeted by the initial iteration of the project, and offsetting around 830 million kilos of harmful carbon emissions annually.

The upscaled offshore wind energy project is expected to deliver first power in 2028 with full power generation anticipated in 2029.

An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) is in preparation for our offshore infrastructure. Feedback received during our public consultation held in March and April 2023, will help refine our offshore plans ahead of a planning application to An Bord Pleanála in 2023/24.

^834,286 homes powered based on projected installed capacity, typical projected wind load factor of 50%, and typical annual consumption 4,200kWh. Quoted 826,944,000 kilos of carbon emissions abated based on projected annual MWh output and latest average CO2 Emissions (0.236g/kWh) in the All-Island Single Electricity Market, and published by the CRU in its Fuel Mix Disclosure and CO2 Emissions for 2020, October 2021.

  1. Between 36 – 60 wind turbines, each comprising a foundation, tower, nacelle and rotor assembly.
  2. One to two Offshore Substations Platforms (OSP) and foundation substructures.
  3. A network of inter-array cabling; and
  4. Two offshore export cables.
  1. Two underground electricity cables will connect from the landfall to the onshore substation
  2. A new 220kV onshore substation and connection to the transmission system to distribute the energy across Ireland.

A new purpose-built maintenance base at Arklow Harbour’s South Dock will be used to service and maintain the windfarm infrastructure once operational. Around 80 full-time local employees will be based out of this location. The OMF will consist of:

  1. Office, parking and warehousing facilities for staff operatives
  2. Marine infrastructure, including pontoons and berths for Crew
    Transfer Vessels (CTVs)

Find out more about each component

Have Your Say

We are committed to working with local communities and stakeholders to gather feedback and local information that will inform the project on an ongoing basis. Local knowledge is key to us so that we understand the issues that are important to the community and can refine our plans accordingly.

Have your say