Two of Ireland’s leading renewable energy companies have announced plans to jointly develop a major offshore wind energy hub in the North Irish Sea investing €80m and creating 150 jobs during construction.
 
Oriel Windfarm Ltd. and Gaelectric Holdings Ltd. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to co-develop a significant offshore wind farm in the north Irish Sea.

The North Irish Sea Array (NISA) has the potential to produce up to 870 MW of wind energy from the Irish Sea and will commence with the development of a 15 MW demonstration project entailing an investment of €80million in a new research and development hub for offshore wind energy.  
 
It is believed that up to 150 jobs could be created during the construction of the project, with 30 new long term jobs for the North East Region. The North Irish Sea Array will be the first major offshore renewable energy project to be developed in the Irish Sea since the construction of the Arklow Bank Wind Farm by GE Electricity in 2001.
 
Ireland has one of the largest offshore wind resources in the world.  The Government’s Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan, published in 2014, indicated the potential to generate up to 10,000 MW of renewable energy from offshore wind energy.
 
Managing Director of Oriel Windfarm Ltd, Brian Britton said, "This project represents the biggest step forward for the Irish offshore wind energy sector in the last ten years.

NISA will commence with a significant demonstration project which, by their nature, draw investment and attract collaborations with local universities and provide opportunities for local businesses. 

Demonstration projects in the UK, Germany and Denmark have led to the development of full scale projects, leading to the creation of many thousands of jobs in those countries."  
 
Source: www.businessworld.ie