Donal O’Sullivan
VP for Development and Offshore, Statkraft Ireland
Ireland’s energy transition is stalled by planning delays. Wind, solar and battery projects are underway, but urgent action is needed to meet 2030 targets.
At this point in Ireland’s collective journey to 2030, the time for delays should be over. Companies like Statkraft are already driving Ireland’s energy transition by developing wind, solar, battery and grid stability projects that can tackle climate change and deliver a secure, affordable supply of green energy to homes and businesses. The renewable energy industry is ready to help the country achieve its targets, but it continues to encounter setbacks.
Energy transition projects awaiting a decision
In the first six months of this year, just one-quarter of the onshore wind farms needed to meet our climate targets were granted planning permission.
Findings of a Wind Energy Ireland report, published in July, revealed that An Bord Pleanála would have had to approve wind projects totalling 860MW since the start of the year. This approval is necessary to ensure we reach the 9GW onshore wind target set out in the Government’s Climate Action Plan.
In contrast, just four wind farms with a combined capacity of approximately 228MW were approved. Moreover, the Board rejected applications from eight wind farms totalling 459MW while 30 projects with an estimated capacity of 1,766MW were still awaiting a decision by June 2024.
The report also revealed that failures by county councils to zone sufficient lands for the development of wind energy are fuelling the rising number of projects rejected by the Board. This includes cases where councils changed the zoning of the land after planning applications had been submitted.
Ambitious but achievable
In January, Statkraft publicised plans to build 3GW of renewable energy projects in Ireland by 2030. While this target includes projects that have been built since 2020 as well as those that are under construction, it is nonetheless a hugely ambitious figure. Ambitious but achievable — only if we have the support and permission to build.
Onshore wind is the backbone
of Ireland’s energy transition.
Onshore wind delays impact 2030 goals
Onshore wind is the backbone of Ireland’s energy transition, but rollout has been — and continues to be — beset by delays. Given the time it takes to submit a project into planning (at least two years of surveys are required), average decision-making times and timelines to receive a grid offer and enter an auction, only projects that are already in planning are likely to be built in time for 2030. For instance, we only recently completed work on our 57.6MW Moanvane Wind Farm in Co. Offaly, which we have been developing for over a decade.
Without such onshore wind projects, it will be impossible to reach the target of generating 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030. More importantly, it will be impossible to have every home and business running on clean energy by 2050. To do this, and to allow for ever-increasing demand and electrification, we need to generate every single megawatt possible of green energy from our own natural resources.
Timely decisions key to renewables progress
Since 2018, when Statkraft first entered the Irish market, we have built 140MW of onshore wind while we aim to complete our 56MW Cushaling Wind Farm, in Co. Offaly, next year. In addition, we recently finished a 42MW solar extension to the Ballymacarney project. We are currently building another two solar farms totalling almost 210MW.
To continue the current run rate of projects under construction and meet our own development targets, however, we need timely decision-making and a commitment to climate action by the local authorities.
While robust and transparent planning decision-making is vital, there must be a more courageous approach taken to building renewable energy projects. Development plans at a local level that do not comply with national and EU targets cannot be allowed to hamper any efforts to generate clean electricity — or slow down the green energy revolution that will power Ireland for decades to come.
