Ireland lays out plans for offshore wind hub

The port authority for Rosslare Europort, Iarnród Éireann, has confirmed it will lodge a planning application to develop a ’Rosslare Offshore Renewable Energy Hub (Rosslare ORE Hub) to support Ireland’s growing offshore wind industry.

The plans ’are a blueprint for the State’s largest ever purpose-built port facility dedicated to offshore renewable energy’, it says, and will ‘transform Rosslare Harbour into Ireland’s primary base for the construction, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms in the Irish and Celtic Seas’.

With a spending estimate of €220 million, the development will span 80 hectares and include two heavy-lift berths specifically designed for offshore works as well as large areas for assembly and marshalling components. There will be a new 64-berth small boat harbour, new access roads, utilities and facilities for local maritime users.

Fifty hectares of seabed will be dredged, 32 hectares of land reclaimed and 20 hectares of port lands created to be able to handle the largest wind turbine components on the market today.

“These facilities will enable Rosslare to serve multiple offshore wind projects under way in the Irish and Celtic Seas and deliver long-term economic and employment benefits to County Wexford and the southeast,” said Iarnród Éireann chief executive Mary Considine. “The Rosslare ORE Hub marks a once-in-a-generation investment in Ireland’s clean energy future, integrating national transport and maritime infrastructure to unlock offshore wind potential and deliver sustainable growth for coastal communities.”

Ireland currently has just one operational offshore wind farm, the Arklow Bank Wind Park, which was commissioned in 2004. However it has 79 projects on the board, with about six in the consent or planning stage, including the expansion of the Arklow Bank site.

The Rosslare Europort development is a key step in meeting Ireland’s target of 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030. Rosslare ORE Hub will have the potential to support the installation of approximately 0.5GW to 1GW each year.  

Subject to planning being granted and funding allocated, Iarnród Éireann aims to start construction in early 2027, with delivery targeted for early 2029.