Oriel Windfarm is set to lodge a planning application with An Bord Pleanála later this week for its proposed offshore wind farm in the North Irish Sea.
The Oriel wind farm project is being developed by JERA Nex through its wholly owned subsidiary Parkwind, and ESB.
One of the first Irish offshore wind farms to be planned, Oriel will be located off the north Co Louth coast and will comprise 25 wind turbines.
It will have a combined generating capacity of up to 375 megawatts (MW), which is the equivalent of the energy needed to power about 300,000 homes and which will reduce the country's carbon emissions and its reliance on imported fossil fuels.
The planning application, also includes the construction of offshore and onshore electricity substations, and all of the necessary submarine and underground cables that are required for the operation of the proposed new green energy project.
The planning process is expected to take up to 12 months. If planning is granted, construction of the Oriel wind farm could begin in 2026, with the wind farm potentially becoming operational in 2028.
Based on these timelines, Oriel would become Ireland's first operational commercial scale offshore wind farm.
Oriel did not secure a State subsidised contract as part of last year's Offshore Renewable Energy Support Scheme auction, but this did not affect the overall development of the project, as the electricity that will be generated by Oriel's wind turbines will be sold into the Irish electricity market.
The wind farm was granted a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan in December of 2022.
This is a new type of formal consent that must be granted by the Government before a proposed offshore wind farm project can apply for planning permission to An Bord Pleanála.
"This is a hugely significant moment, not just for Oriel and for the Northeast region, but for the entire Irish energy sector and the wider Irish economy," Garrett Connell, Parkwind Country Manager for Ireland, said.
"We have been working on making Oriel wind farm a reality for nearly 20 years and a huge amount of work has been completed to get to this key project milestone," Mr Connell said.
"Throughout this time, we have engaged and consulted with local communities and other stakeholders on many occasions, and we would encourage them to participate in this planning process, and make their views known to An Bord Pleanála," he added.
