A second offshore wind auction will take place next year, the Minister for the Environment and Climate has confirmed.
Eamon Ryan made the announcement at the Wind Energy Trade Show this morning.
This news follows the announcement last week that an auction for the Town Nua site off the coast of Waterford will take place in early 2025.
Minister Ryan said the second auction should take place for a site identified off the southern coast, known as Lí Ban, before the end of next year.
"This is a tremendous boost for Irish offshore wind energy," said Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland.
"It sends a message that will be heard right around Europe, that Ireland is committed to offshore wind and determined to accelerate," he added.
Wind Energy Ireland said the Lí Ban site is significantly larger than Tonn Nua.
It estimates that a wind farm built at that location could be in the range of 1,100 MW to 1,500 MW in size compared to the 900 MW proposed for Tonn Nua.
The sites were identified in the Designated Maritime Area Plan approved by the Oireachtas for the south coast of Ireland earlier in October.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has released geophysical datasets for the Tonn Nua area.
It follows the Government's recent approval of the agreed terms for the second offshore win auction in the Tonn Nua ORESS area and the State's first spatial plan for offshore renewable development.
"The recent announcements on our next offshore wind auction, including the release of this geophysical data, is a strong signal that Government is determined to deliver our very ambitious offshore renewable energy targets," said minister Eamon Ryan.
"Ireland has enormous offshore wind potential, and along with delivering cleaner and more secure energy to our homes and businesses, renewable energy projects are poised to revolutionise our economy, offering significant regional and national economic benefits."
"Our first offshore auction in 2023 overperformed all expectations and I have every confidence that we will continue to build of its success."
