EDF Renewables Ireland has signed a partnership with Simply Blue Group to develop the Western Star and Emerald floating wind projects in Ireland.
The companies will develop the projects under a 50:50 joint venture (JV) partnership.
The partnership aligns with the Irish Government’s offshore wind power generation target of 7GW by 2030.
To be developed 35km off the west coast of Clare County, the Western Star project is anticipated to have a capacity of 1.35GW. It will incorporate a new floating technology to enable the installation of turbines at a water depth of more than 100m.
The Emerald Project will be located in the Celtic Sea off the south coast of Ireland. It will have a generation capacity of up to 1.3GW, with the turbines to be located between 35km and 60km from the shore.
The combined capacity of the two projects will be enough to provide clean electricity for about two million homes in the country.
EDF Renewables UK and Ireland CEO Matthieu Hue said: “Emerald and Western Star will complement our flagship, fixed-bottom foundation, Codling Wind Park development off the east coast of Ireland, diversifying our offshore portfolio in Ireland and strengthening our position as a key player in the Irish and UK offshore markets.”
Last month, Ireland awarded contracts for four projects with a total capacity of 3.1GW in the country’s first offshore wind auction.
In a JV with Fred Olsen Seawind, EDF Renewables was one of the awardees under the auction. The JV will develop the 1.3GW Codling wind farm in an area located between 13km and 22km off the Wicklow coast.
