Oriel Wind Farm

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Oriel Wind Farm
Oriel Wind Farm
Country Ireland
LocationSoutheast of Dundalk, Irish Sea
Coordinates 53°55′05″N6°04′05″W / 53.918°N 6.068°W / 53.918; -6.068
StatusProposed
Construction cost€900 million to €1 billion (proposed as of 2012) [1]
Wind farm
Type Offshore
Max. water depth15–30 m (49–98 ft)
Distance from shore7.8 km (4.8 mi)
Site area28 km2 (11 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational55 X 6 MW
Nameplate capacity
  • 375 MW
[ edit on Wikidata]

Oriel Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm in the northwestern Irish Sea. The project is associated with Oriel Windfarm Limited, a privately owned Irish renewable energy company.

Contents

According to a 2007 press release, the proposed farm is due to be located near Clogherhead, approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Dundalk, County Louth, and approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) northeast of Drogheda. [2] The farm takes its name from the ancient Kingdom of Oriel.

Environmental impact

Surveys and studies of the physical, ecological, and human environment at the proposed wind farm site were carried out from 2003. These included geotechnical assessments of the area and surveys of birds flying above the site. [3]

Planning

In 2007, the proposed developers suggested that if permission was obtained, "construction could commence as early as Autumn 2009". [2] However, as of 2014, the project was on hold pending talks between the Irish and UK governments on exporting the electricity to the UK. [4]

In July 2015, the companies Oriel Windfarm and Gaelectric announced a proposed co-development of a 15MW demonstration project. The two companies suggested that the project, termed the North Irish Sea Array, had the potential to produce 870MW of electricity. [5]

A planning application for the proposed Oriel project was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in mid-2024. [6] [7] As of August 2025, the development was one of three proposed offshore wind farms for which the planning authorities had requested "extensive extra information" on potential impacts to marine and bird life, rescue and commercial air traffic, tourism and coastal erosion. [8] The developers were given "until next January [2026] to respond". [8]

Output

If completed as per the 2007 proposals, the wind farm would reportedly be capable of generating up to 330  megawatts of electricity. [2] The generated electricity could be fed into the Irish national electrical grid, with some of the output exported via interconnector to the UK and European energy markets. [2]

References

  1. ↑ O'Halloran, Barry (15 June 2012). "UK to plug into green Irish energy". The Irish Times . Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Major offshore wind farm planned off Louth, Ireland in the North Irish Sea". finfacts.com. 1 August 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007.
  3. ↑ "Oriel Windfarm Ltd - Offshore Wind Farm - Environmental Impact Statement - Non-technical Summary" (PDF). Oriel Windfarm. January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2007 – via dcmnr.gov.ie.
  4. ↑ "Irish wind farms confident they'll achieve deal for exports to the UK". independent.ie. 15 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Percival, Geoff (9 July 2015). "Ireland set to become €8bn renewable energy hub". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Oriel Windfarm to lodge planning application". orielwindfarm.ie (Press release). Oriel Windfarm. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "An Coimisiún Pleanála - Case reference: OA15.319799". pleanala.ie. Retrieved 21 January 2026. Proposed development known as Oriel Wind Farm off the coast of County Louth [..] History [..] 24/05/2024 [..] Lodged
  8. 1 2 "Offshore wind farm rulings on hold as planners request further information on impact". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
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