National Ports Study

GDG commissioned for National Ports Study

Given the imminent development of the offshore wind sector in Ireland, consideration must be given to the practical requirements allowing for successful delivery.

Port infrastructure to service the renewables industry is currently recognised as a key area requiring attention.

To understand the suitability of Irish ports to service the sector for manufacturing and staging, the status of the existing infrastructure needs to be established, and the potential for future infrastructure assessed where necessary.

Further to recent regulatory agreements, a clear pathway is being developed to achieving the Climate Action Plan target of at least 5 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. However, at this stage the majority of the existing port infrastructure in Ireland is insufficient for the anticipated development needs.

There are relatively few port locations that could support the offshore wind industry and those suitable will need to be benchmarked against up-to-date criteria. To ensure a robust long-term offshore wind sector, it is imperative that a local supply-chain is developed to service the industry.

Specialist offshore engineering and design consultancy, Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions Ltd (GDG), is delighted to announce that it has been commissioned by Wind Energy Ireland to undertake a study of Ireland’s national ports.

The assessment will seek to clarify the current position, as well as identifying the strategic port development opportunities for the future where relevant. The study, funded by Belfast Harbour, DP Energy, ESB, Inis Offshore Wind, Ørsted and RWE Renewables, will focus on enabling both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind projects to be facilitated from Irish ports.

The output of the study will be a report that documents the anticipated industry requirements for the construction of offshore renewable energy projects and assesses these needs against existing, and likely, available port infrastructure at a range of Irish ports.

The project commenced in late March 2022 and is anticipated to be concluded May 2022.

The assessment will seek to clarify the current position, as well as identifying the strategic port development opportunities for the future where relevant.

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