Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Climate Action, Darren O’Rourke TD, today said Minister Eamon Ryan needs to bring forward concrete proposals aimed at accelerating our offshore wind delivery, as we can no longer afford a business-as-usual approach.
Teachta O’Rourke was speaking from Scotland as part of an Oireachtas delegation visiting the Moray East Offshore Wind farm, off the coast of Aberdeen.
The Meath East TD said;
“This weekend we visited the Moray East Offshore Wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen, a really impressive project that is now producing enough renewable energy for one million homes.
“Scotland’s example on offshore wind shows what’s possible for our island if the political will is there.
“The Scottish have been powering ahead developing their offshore wind resources, but due to twenty years of inaction by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, Ireland has fallen way behind and has considerable catching up to do.
“The climate crisis, our energy insecurity and the huge cost of electricity all reinforce the need to radically accelerate the delivery of our offshore wind projects.
“We need to see our planning agencies resourced properly to reduce the planning delays offshore wind projects are facing.
“We need robust, thorough, quality planning procedures for renewable energy projects, but we also need decisions to be made in a timely manner.
“Last month we heard just one port on the island of Ireland is capable of hosting the construction of offshore wind farms.
“If we don’t invest in and ready our ports now, we will lose the jobs and supply chain business from these multi-billion-euro projects to ports in Britain.
“Investing in our electricity grid, developing our battery storage and green hydrogen sectors and reducing the cost of producing renewable energy here also all need to be addressed.
“Reduced emissions, energy independence, quality jobs, new export opportunities and lower electricity costs for consumers are just a handful of the reasons we need a step change in the pace of delivery of our offshore wind potential.”
