There are plans to build up to 60 wind turbines outside Dublin Bay.
The offshore wind farm would be be around 10 kilometres off the coast and cost over €1 billion.
RWE Renewables and Saorgus Energy are to lodge planning permission for the turbines which will be around 300 metres in height early next year.
They hope the Dublin Array Project will be in operation by 2026, and a public consultation is now open.
As the Irish Times reports, Large wind turbines are likely to be 310m in height when blade size is factored in, which will significantly change the seascape view from Dún Laoghaire almost as far as Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Technological advances
If approved, the view out to sea in the capital will become like some major European coastal cities where turbines are prominent, most notably in the Danish capital Copenhagen.
Dublin Array project director Peter Lefroy says the developers are conscious of visual impact, “especially as the Dublin region has never been exposed to a lot of wind energy in the past. This is why we have gone out early on consultation and are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders.”
The location was chosen because of its proximity to where in Ireland there is most demand for electricity and the grid is strongest, Mr Lefroy says. It makes technical sense that the country’s first major offshore wind facility should be near Dublin, he adds.
The wind energy sector has changed dramatically in recent years to building larger turbines but fewer of them due to technological advances, with marked reductions in development cost and price of resulting electricity. “This means we can deliver more electricity, more efficiently, with fewer turbines,” Mr Lefroy says.
Dublin Array is anticipating where the industry will be in five years’ time. That means turbines in the order of 135m tower height – totalling over 300m to “top of blade”.
As a consequence, they are planning to build between 45 and 61 turbines. When first proposed to Dublin Array, it was considering up to 145 turbines with a tip height of 160m. Details will be finalised once surveys are completed in coming months.
