Oriel Wind Farm

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

Oriel Wind Farm
CountryIreland
LocationSoutheast of Dundalk, Irish Sea
Coordinates53.918°N 6.068°W / 53.918; -6.068
StatusProposed
Construction cost€900 million to €1 billion[1]
Wind farm
TypeOffshore
Max. water depth15–30 m (49–98 ft)
Distance from shore7.8 km (4.8 mi)
Hub height100 m (328 ft)
Rotor diameter120 m (394 ft)
Site area28 km2 (11 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational55 X 6 MW
Nameplate capacity330 MW

The proposed Oriel wind farm will 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

Detailed surveys and studies of the physical, ecological, and human environment at the proposed wind farm site have been carried out since 2003. These ranged from geotechnical assessments of the area to surveys of birds flying above the site.[3]

Construction

In 2013 it was said that construction would start in 2015, with the entire development completed by 2017.[3] However, by 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 it was announced that the companies Oriel Windfarm and Gaelectric would co-develop a 15MW demonstration project, that would include the development of a Research and Development hub for offshore energy. It was announced that the project, termed the North Irish Sea Array, had the potential to produce 870MW of electricity.[5]

Output

Once completed, the wind farm will be capable of generating up to 330 megawatts of electricity. The generated electricity will be fed into the National Grid at one of the following locations: Castlebellingham or Dunany in County Louth or Bremore in County Dublin. The output will then be exported via interconnector to the UK and European energy markets.[2]

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References
  1. "UK to plug into green Irish energy". The Irish Times. 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
  2. Major offshore wind farm planned off Louth, Ireland in the North Irish Sea
  3. Environmental Impact Statement
  4. "Irish wind farms confident they'll achieve deal for exports to the UK". independent.ie. 16 March 2014.
  5. Percival, Geoff (9 July 2015). "Ireland set to become €8bn renewable energy hub". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
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