Arklow wind farm to get investment of up to €2bn

SSE, the renewable energy developer and generator, made a presentation at the monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council on the company’s proposed wind park development at Arklow Bank.

SSE plans to invest between €1 billion and €2 billion to develop the Arklow Bank Wind Park to its minimum 520MW potential. When fully completed, the new offshore wind farm will be capable of generating enough renewable electricity to power almost half a million homes each year.

SSE has a 99-year foreshore lease, granted in 2002, for the development of a minimum 520MW offshore wind farm at a shallow water sandbank at Arklow Bank in the Irish Sea. The foreshore site is situated between 7km and 13km off the coastline.

Marian Troy, Head of Corporate Affairs for SSE Ireland, said: ‘After years of being stalled, Ireland is now at a point where the offshore wind energy revolution is about to begin, and Wicklow can be at the forefront of that revolution. Wicklow County Council has shown real leadership in the promotion of the opportunity that offshore wind energy can play to increase employment in the county’s coastal communities. The Council’s ‘Economic Think Tank Action Plan’ as well as its more recent ‘Local Economic and Community Plan’ set out a clear framework and specific objectives through which Wicklow can realise the potential benefits of its maritime assets through offshore wind energy’.

As part of the presentation, the company issued an invitation for a delegation from the Council to visit a similar wind park in Scotland.

Cllr Pat Vance, Cathaoirleach, Wicklow County Council, thanked the company for the invitation and said: ‘It would be important for the elected representatives to see for themselves what the potential impact of these turbines would be on the Wicklow landscape/seascape’.