Northern Ireland prepares for renewables

The document, put together by The Crown Estate and the Northern Ireland (NI) Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Investment (DETI) also details areas where input from the industry would be welcome in establishing the level of interest and the best route to offering development rights for both offshore wind and tidal stream projects.

A two year programme aimed at establishing a commercial scale offshore renewable energy leasing round in NI waters led to a DETI draft Offshore Renewable Energy Strategic Action Plan (ORESAP) 2009-2020, along with a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Following on from this, eight potential wind, wave and tidal resource zones were identified which were subsequently narrowed down to two wind and two tidal resource zones, along with the conclusion that between 900MW and 1,200MW of renewable energy could be installed by 2020 without significant adverse effects on the environment and other sea users.

Following the SEA’s findings, the draft ORESAP proposed targets of at least 600MW of offshore wind and 300MW of tidal stream generating capacity by 2020. No development of commercial scale wave projects is envisaged ‘due to only limited resource availability’. Non-statutory guidance and information for developers and stakeholders covering siting and consenting issues in the form of Regional Locational Guidance (RLG) will be available in April 2011.

The design discussion is aimed at commercial offshore renewable projects rather than demonstration projects and the document points out that when, in 2010, The Crown Estate awarded four demonstration sites in England and Scotland, no such bids were received for NI project sites. The offering of wave and tidal stream demonstration projects in NI waters is still planned, but with the latter, consideration is being given to restricting them to sites other than those potentially suitable for commercial projects to avoid precluding such projects.

As with other offshore energy developments, general issues are addressed, including electricity grid provisions, infrastructure and supply chain, regulatory and legislative framework, support regime, and marine boundary considerations.

Guidance for responders to the design discussion document is in the form of questions covering aspects of potential offshore wind and tidal stream developments.

For both offshore wind and tidal stream projects, participants’ approach to seabed allocation is sought, including a single company or consortium entity having exclusive rights to a whole resource zone, a number of entities having rights to develop projects within zones, and The Crown Estate identifying areas as multiple projects with bidders nominating their own project locations, possibly outside SEA Resource zones.

Detailed information about each potential developer’s plans, including generating capacity, area, location, water depth and grid requirements are sought, along with their proposed timescale from application for statutory consents to first power generation.

The deadline for responses is 31 May 2011, with an overview summary due by August 2011. Two separate, parallel, competitive tender rounds for offshore wind and tidal stream will start in the third quarter of 2011 with development rights possibly being awarded as early as spring 2012.

Arlene Foster MLA, Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment said, “I am very pleased that The Crown Estate has confirmed the next steps in the development of marine renewable energy in Northern Ireland waters. The Strategic Environment Assessment that we undertook has shown there is strong potential for offshore wind and tidal stream projects, which could bring significant economic benefits to Northern Ireland as well as help meet our 40% target for renewable electricity by 2020. In pursuing these goals, we look forward to enhancing our already excellent relationship with The Crown Estate.”

By Peter Barker