Minister Darragh O’Brien’s Speech: WEI Offshore Wind Conference

In a wide-ranging speech, the Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to accelerating offshore renewable energy, outlining key policy developments, infrastructure investments, and ambitious targets for 2040 and beyond.

Below is the Minister’s speech in full:

“I want to start by thanking Noel and his team at Wind Energy Ireland for inviting me to be part of this important conference. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you today about both my own and this Government’s strong ambitions for Ireland’s offshore future. Our Programme for Government places a renewed focus on sustainable development, environmental protection, and economic growth.

This Government sees the transformative potential of Ireland’s offshore renewable sector, and we are taking action to unlock its key potential.

Earlier this month, I was pleased to announce that work has commenced on our new accelerated National Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) for offshore renewable energy. This supports our decarbonisation ambitions and our offshore renewables target of 20GW by 2040. Having a single National DMAP will accelerate the process of site designation for offshore renewable energy and will provide greater certainty for our marine stakeholders and the renewables industry. And indeed, we have our second offshore wind auction taking place in the coming months.

With a maritime area seven times the size of our land area, this represents a crucial step in harnessing one of Ireland’s greatest natural resources and achieving our climate targets.

Through the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce, sixteen government departments and state agencies are working together to remove bottlenecks and speed up project delivery. The involvement and contribution of both Wind Energy Ireland and industry within the taskforce will play an increasingly important part as we move forward.

There are some very encouraging numbers in our green transition. It is estimated that renewables provided 40% of our electricity demand in 2024. In terms of solar energy, while just under 3% of total electricity came from solar in March, this is up from just 0.6% a few short years ago.

Success story

Ireland is already a wind energy success story in terms of onshore deployment. Onshore wind farms provided 48% of Ireland’s power last February, and in January we reached over 5GW of installed wind capacity. It is my ambition to achieve the same success offshore.

As the state looks to roll out offshore wind, five advanced-stage ‘Phase One’ projects will deliver a combined capacity of 3,800 megawatts of renewable energy. These major projects will make a sizeable contribution to our energy and climate targets.

I want to assure you that Government is committed to the development of our Phase One projects. These flagship projects are a significant milestone, with all now having submitted applications to An Bord Pleanála.

We know the delivery of major infrastructure by the private sector can take time—often up to a decade—given the many decision points involved, from design and permitting to investment and construction.

At present, global energy markets are also operating in a complex environment, grappling with ongoing conflict, economic uncertainty, and supply chain challenges. The offshore wind sector has been particularly impacted by rising costs and higher interest rates.

Yet while these challenges may result in near-term setbacks, the fundamentals of the global energy transition remain strong. The long-term growth of wind energy is certain. The Government remains committed to developing 5GW of offshore wind capacity, with projects in construction by 2030 and energised as soon as feasible thereafter.

The historic milestone reached at COP28 in Dubai—where almost 200 governments agreed to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double energy efficiency improvements by 2030—must be followed through.

As we advance the roll-out of offshore wind, it’s important to acknowledge how far we’ve already come. As part of the previous Government, we undertook the most comprehensive overhaul of marine legislation and governance in Ireland’s history. I launched the National Marine Planning Framework in 2021, and the Maritime Area Planning Act was passed that same year. This groundbreaking legislation is now operational.

In 2023, I established the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), the State’s independent body responsible for managing Ireland’s maritime area sustainably—a key enabler of our offshore renewable energy ambitions.

Large infrastructure projects have been completed or are underway. The Greenlink Interconnector has doubled our interconnection capacity to 1GW, with the capacity to power 380,000 homes. The Celtic Interconnector linking Ireland and France is progressing well ahead of its 2026 completion.

Investing in grid

We are also investing heavily in our grid. €4 billion was invested in the onshore grid over the past five years to support the growing input from renewable sources. In addition, €88.5 million from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund was committed last year to enhance infrastructure at the Port of Cork—ensuring it can support the assembly and deployment of offshore wind projects. Other ports including Dublin, Waterford, and Shannon Foynes will also play vital roles in delivering our offshore ambitions.

Later this year, we will hold the State’s second offshore wind auction—the Tonn Nua auction—which will procure a further 900MW of capacity from the South Coast DMAP, Ireland’s first spatial plan for offshore wind. Following this, the State will bring forward the remaining three sites within the South Coast DMAP, ensuring a consistent project pipeline. This is essential for both the industry and for building a robust indigenous supply chain.

I am pleased to announce today that my Department has now procured extensive geotechnical data for the Tonn Nua site. This data—covering seabed conditions and subsurface geology—will help significantly de-risk the site for developers. Officials are working to ensure the data is published and shared in the coming days.

I’m also pleased to announce the publication of the Future Framework 2025 Review. This review outlines specific progress on our strategic actions and includes an updated action plan reaffirming the Government’s commitment to long-term offshore goals. Of the 29 actions outlined last year, 20 are now either completed or underway.

Alongside this, we are publishing the Offshore Wind Technical Resource Assessment, which provides a detailed analysis and recommendations for developing both fixed and floating offshore wind. This marks an important step in mapping our coastline and lays the foundation for the next National DMAP, which will include broad public consultation and rigorous data analysis.

After engaging with the Climate Advisory Council and many stakeholders, it’s clear we share a focus on accelerating renewables at pace. This transition won’t just address climate change—it will drive growth and development for many local and rural communities. It’s vital that we bring these communities along with us and ensure they benefit from a renewable future.

We know that meeting Ireland’s 2050 offshore wind targets could contribute at least €38 billion to the economy and create thousands of jobs. Evidence from our neighbours in the UK, Norway, and Denmark shows that offshore renewable development can revitalise towns and regions that had been overlooked for decades.

Finally, I want to sincerely thank everyone for attending today. My colleagues across Government and I look forward to sharing more details of our plans with you over the next two days.”