Oriel plans major off-shore wind farm

Oriel Windfarm Limited - the Irish-owned and operated sustainable and renewable energy company - has announced plans to build a major offshore wind farm in the North Irish Sea.

The company said that the plans are at "an advanced stage" and that the facility would have capacity to generate 330 megawatts of electricity. On completion, it would be Ireland's largest renewable electricity generator and one of the largest power stations in the country.

The project will be located in the Irish Sea, between Dundalk and Drogheda.

Oriel stated that preparatory work on the project had been underway for several years under the terms of a Foreshore Licence granted to the company in 2005. It is currently in the final stages of a Foreshore Lease application process with the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

Detailed plans were submitted to the Department in February of this year, and the public consultation process was completed in June. A decision on the Foreshore Lease - which would allow the project to proceed to construction stage - is due in the autumn.

On completion, the wind farm will have capacity to generate in excess of 5pc of Ireland's electricity needs - producing enough electricity for 250,000 homes. In addition, the company says, the wind farm has the potential to avert the release of over 350,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.