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Investigatesoffshore windJUST TWO IRISH companies hold a significant stake in the numerous offshore wind projects currently in the pipeline off the Irish coast.
ESB and Kerry-based wind energy developer Saorgus Energy are involved in two separate projects, but neither is the lead developer.
This means one of Ireland’s most lucrative natural resources is being sold to a range of foreign investors looking to make a profit.
The Journal Investigates analysed financial records to uncover the ultimate controlling parties behind the offshore wind projects.
Among the companies that hold a controlling interest in offshore wind projects are oil and gas companies as well as RWE, a German multinational energy company — one of Europe’s largest CO2 emitters over the last five years.
Greenpeace has labelled investments in offshore wind by fossil fuel companies as greenwashing, pointing to their continued high use of polluting fuels.
Norwegian and French state-owned companies are also investing in Ireland’s offshore wind, as are the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan fund, which previously owned the Irish National Lottery.
The Irish government has committed to achieving at least 5 GW (gigawatts) of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030. That equates to 5,000 MW (megawatts) and is a huge jump from the 25 MW currently installed at Ireland’s only offshore wind farm, located off Arklow.
This is part of its wider goal of reaching an 80% share of renewable electricity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030.
An offshore wind strategy, published by the Department of Enterprise, states that international and foreign investment is a “competitive necessity” in developing the offshore wind market and achieving the climate objectives.
Half of the six projects that are furthest along in development are backed by fossil fuel companies, according to an analysis by The Journal Investigates.
One of these is the Oriel Wind Park project, based off the coast of County Louth. Planning permission has been submitted by the developer for 25 turbines, with a maximum capacity of 375 MW.
The developers say that this project will be able to power 300,000 houses with renewable energy. That is more than all the houses in Co Cork.
The project is ultimately controlled by a partnership between Japan’s largest power generation company, JERA, and oil company, BP.
The ESB is listed as a partner for the project, but they do not hold a controlling share, according to the planning documents reviewed by The Journal Investigates.
Another offshore wind farm project that has ties to large polluters is the Dublin Array.
Located along the Dublin and Wicklow coasts this project is a 50:50 partnership between German multinational energy company RWE and Irish wind farm developer Saorgus Energy.
However, a spokesperson for RWE Renewables Ireland, the Irish arm of the company, told The Journal Investigates that the development is being led by RWE.
Alongside its renewable energy projects, RWE also operates coal and gas power plants across Europe, releasing vast amounts of CO2 emissions.
Planning permission has not yet been submitted for this project, but published proposals say that it will have between 39 and 50 wind turbines, generating a total project capacity of up to 824 MW.
A third project is backed by a partnership between French-state-owned energy company EDF and Bonheur ASA.
The latter is a Norwegian holding company controlled by Fred Olsen & Co, the private investment vehicle of Norwegian billionaire Anette S Olsen whose family originally made their money through shipping.
The Codling Wind Park, located off the Wicklow coast is the largest offshore wind farm that has submitted planning permission with 1,300 MW capacity.
This project alone represents a quarter of the government’s 2030 target for offshore wind.
As with BP and RWE, EDF is active in a range of power generation technologies, including fossil fuels.
Some argue that the involvement of these fossil fuel and energy companies amounts to greenwashing, pointing out that these renewable projects often feature prominently in marketing while the companies continue to emit vast amounts of CO2.
“I wouldn’t misinterpret these investments as a shift in the business model. Definitely not,” Lisa Göldner, the lead campaigner of Greenpeace’s European climate and energy campaign, told The Journal Investigates:
If you look at the advertisements of those companies, you usually see nice offshore wind parks. But the reality is really completely the opposite.
She added that these companies “are securing their shares in businesses that might only start in years or decades to come” and that given the percentage of renewable investments as part of their overall portfolio, in her mind they are “definitely greenwashing”.
A spokesperson for RWE Renewables Ireland told The Journal Investigates that “RWE is committed to the 1.5°C Science Based Targets initiative”. They said the company has set a target to “achieve net zero by 2040 and the phase out of its coal-fired power generation in Germany by 2030”.
They also added that the company was investing billions of euro in wind, solar and batteries “with a clear direction of travel for the future”.
A spokesperson for BP said that their joint venture with JERA is not yet complete and that it cannot comment on the project as a result. JERA referred to a statement from an Oriel project spokesperson that said:
“The Oriel project is well placed to contribute towards Ireland’s 2030 targets for offshore wind, renewable energy, and emissions reduction.” They also said that it plans to sell the electricity that will be generated into the Irish electricity market.
EDF also referred to a statement from the Codling Wind Park project which said: “EDF Renewables is one of Ireland’s leading renewable energy companies and is committed to working closely with the Government and local communities to help deliver 80% of Ireland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.”
Ireland’s offshore wind resources have also attracted large multinational investors in renewable energy.
The North Sea Array, a 700 MW wind farm located off the coast of Dublin, Meath and Louth, is backed by a joint venture between Statkraft and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a Danish investment firm that focuses on investments in green energy projects.
Statkraft is a hydropower company, fully owned by the Norwegian state. The company also invests in wind and solar, owning wind farms in Germany and France.
A spokesperson for the project said Statkraft teamed up with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to “ensure the successful delivery of a project of this scale”, adding that it would “deliver significant investment to local communities”.
Dr Rory Monaghan, a lecturer of mechanical engineering at the University of Galway, said that part of the reason why these projects are backed by large multinational energy companies is because many of them have the expertise required to construct these projects.
“They would all have experience of building offshore wind farms in the North Sea,” he added, saying that Ireland’s port infrastructure also isn’t suitable for offshore wind turbine assembly and that many of these companies would already have existing supply chains through UK ports.
According to a 2022 report by industry lobby group Wind Energy Ireland, Belfast is currently the only port on the island of Ireland that is fully equipped to construct offshore wind farms.
By 2030, the Port of Cork hopes to also support offshore wind farm construction, following recent investment.
The majority of the projects currently in the pipeline are situated along the east coast, particularly along the Wicklow and Dublin coastline. Just one project, Sceirde Rocks, is based on the west coast.
This, Dr Monaghan explains, is due to the rough sea conditions and deeper water that present additional engineering challenges for projects on the west.
The Sceirde Rocks project, he said, is a unique case as it is partly sheltered by Galway Bay and there are shallower waters around that part of the coast.
This project is backed by a joint venture between offshore developer Corio Generation, which is owned by an Australian investment bank, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
The latter may be familiar to Irish readers, having previously owned the company behind the National Lottery, before selling it to French lottery operator Française des Jeux in 2023.
A spokesperson for Corio Generation confirmed ownership of the project, while a spokesperson for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan declined to comment.
The last of the six proposed offshore wind farms is on the Arklow Bank, off Co Wicklow. This is the second phase of offshore wind farms in this location.
It consists of 56 wind turbines generating 800 MW of electricity and is being developed by Scottish energy company SSE plc.
The current Arklow Bank wind farm in operation (phase one) which has seven wind turbines and a total of 25 MW capacity is to be decommissioned. The operator, Arklow Energy Limited which is owned by GE Vernova, submitted proposals about the decommissioning to An Bord Pleanála last month.
A spokesperson told us it has “reached the end of its operating life” and that they “will work with local officials to complete the decommissioning process in a safe, timely, and responsible manner”.
It may be some time before wind turbines begin to appear on our coastal skyline.
A number of the developments are experiencing planning delays. Of the five projects that have submitted planning applications to An Bord Pleanála, three decisions are overdue since December.
Industry lobby group, Wind Energy Ireland, said that quick but robust decisions are needed on these projects if Ireland is going to hit its 2030 climate targets.
“We cannot afford to have projects spending years in the planning system while families are struggling with their bills and we are spending millions importing fossil fuels,” Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs with Wind Energy Ireland, told The Journal Investigates.
He added that while the additional funding provided to An Bord Pleanála to deal with these project applications was welcome, “more is necessary to provide the people and the expertise our planning system needs”.
A spokesperson for An Bord Pleanála did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Reporter: Conor O’Carroll • Editors: Maria Delaney & Susan Daly • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly
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Most importantly now allocate 1 billion to accommodate asylum ,50 million for defending Ukraine, 400k to shelter bikes from rain…..
@Hugh McGanus: I Thank your mother for not swallowing you; rise above others in your species and set an example.
@sakk sa: 2.5 billion so far on the Ukrainians, 1 billion on the illegal immigrants , 2 billion on a hospital , and 6.2 billion and non-government organisations it’s an absolute disaster of a country yet only 450 million allocated to housing. We really need to get out onto the streets the fighting Irish need to come back and we need to put the government in their places and get them out completely.
The family silver was sold off years ago
@barry: and continues to be sold off the only major resource that we have in Ireland and the government are selling it off as per usual lining their own pockets while we get fleeced with bills and infrastructure charges for these wind turbines and networks it’s about time we took control and became a powerhouse of wind energy but of course the government don’t have the backbone or knowledge to even implement this only thinking of their own pockets
@Bren: people didn’t even know about this resource 20 years ago. Of it was left up to the Government these windfarms would never be built and if they were they would be run by the civil servants who like the teachers, nurses, employees in the Art Council couldn’t be sacked for incompetence.
@Liam23: well why is the government selling off our resources? So basically we are being run by a bunch of school teachers as they cannot see the benefits of this for Ireland and the taxpayer of Ireland to lower our costs we need an actual resource instead of importing them we have a huge amount of wind energy all around our island that can be used for ourselves and the rest could be sold off
It’s an absolute joke of a country just wanted to rip off absolutely everybody for everything and getting no value for money
“We cannot afford to have projects spending years in the planning system while families are struggling with their bills”
Foreign investment in offshore windfarms won’t reduce electricity bills. Every MW will be at a premium, albeit green in production.
The article doesn’t mention a price on establishing an offshore wind farm but maybe €13B of apple money would be better put to use in going to work for the irish people?
@Padhraic McLaughlin: same families who are “struggling” struggle to get enough together and just about manage to for a family holiday to Florida
@Padhraic McLaughlin: yiz all have that apple money spent 100 times over! What’s the cutoff date for using that old gem?
@Seamus Dunne: Being in control of our own energy supply is the one and only thing that the Apple money should have been spent on. The government are incapable of spending wisely and they will flitter it away.
What does Greenpeace not whinge about?
Nothing new with this news is a repeat of the Irish political establishment parties gave away Irish fisheries,oil and gas, tannery and wool industries to foreigners in joining the then EEC in 1973. Subsequent oil or gas finds in Irish water the Irish people and economy don’t see any financial benefits from the gombeens in charge. Norway built a sovereign wealth fund of over 1.5 trillions but Ireland is 300 billion in the Red.
Not sure what the beef is here. Do we want The Office of Public Works to run all these projects instead?
@Del Ray: no thanks they can’t even manage the building of a bike shed properly.
@Del Ray: I honestly don’t know either. It’s not like selling off oil and gas rights. What is the barrier for government or Irish private enterprise building a few of these wind farms? Seems like a ridiculous “investigation” really.
@Del Ray: Yes, but first they need to be gutted.
A lot of windy lads on here would nearly drive a turbine on their own. Our electricity costs would be higher and there would be more power cuts if we didnt have all these foreign investors.End of.
@Willie Marty: You might as well shout into the wind instead of trying to explain common sense to this lot.
@Willie Marty: Explain how? (Especially when hypothetical)
@Thesaltyurchin: can you name one Irish company that would have the money and expertise combined capable of erecting a substancial wind farm on their own.
@Willie Marty: Alternus Energy?… But ideally infrastructures like these (energy, waste, etc) should all be ring fenced and managed by state companies, granted after a complete gutting of the political and bureaucratic systems that continue to keep us ‘without’… we’ve never tried really, just always assumed we wouldn’t be able to do it, so lifted our skirts to whomever is willing, sugar, oil, roads, you name it, Ireland craves it’s ‘daddy’ since the English left.
@Thesaltyurchin: Quiet true but unfortunately we have to live in the real world Salty.
When the power gets cut off for any length of time people go crazy. No mobiles etc. They would kill their granny to get heat.Was it not a German company who built Ardnacrusha? Siemens???
We would still be in the dark without foreign investors. !!!! “Just get on with it”,I say.
@Niall English: Exactly,people also scream about building social houses and then you read 67% are in arrears owing over 120million and you can see why they don’t.
@Helena Camella Cummins: Forigen idea maybe, granted we’re ex slave m0r0ns but we CAN build and we do need a ‘master’ in that capacity but all successful nations understand provisions for their people.
First choice….As we can’t build ourselves because no one Irish wants to do it, or can afford to do so competitively, we get someone who can
Second choice….we just moan about stuff, do nothing and run short of electricity
So only two choices then…most commentators will pick the last one
@Cablestayed: Exactly! The article complains about foreign companies doing it “for profit” as if that was a crime. Why aren’t we doing it for a profit.
We have the resources yet there is no government policy to encourage exploitation of this resource. (Unlike other small countries such as Denmark, Portugal, etc)
Resources are focused on asylum seekers and NGOs (translation: quick bucks for friends of the Government) and Palestine (populist vote getter)
Meanwhile foreign “adults” exploit our resources.
@Fran Ken: a lot of the companies involved in the ipas system are foreign owned
@Cablestayed: We can build it tho. It’s our administrators, from the politicians through all the bureaucrats that have us ring-fenced for foreign investment. A proper administrative gutting is needed.
@Thesaltyurchin: I agree that our public sector needs gutting and complete reform, however there is nothing stopping a community group getting together, obtaining investment and building their own wind farms.
@The next small thing: My experience renovating an old country cottage would be all the insider info I need to bet everything I own, that there are 100s of Irish people employed to be in the way of that kind of innovation (good idea of course)
ffs
ATM wind turbines are the most profitable for investors. As we have to pay gas wholesale prices even though wind generated power costs a third less
@Trevor Beacom: yeah do you remember at the start of the Ukraine war when Ursula said that the EU would decouple the electricity price from the gas price to help citizens, never happened of course, can’t be going after businesses when the little people can suffer a bit more.
FFG doing what they do. Selling us all down the Swanny.
Get rid of these eye sores then there is nothing to complain about,
@Ned: but we actually need these to produce energy for ourselves not to be sold off to other countries Ireland doesn’t have much natural resources only for wind and this could be a game changer to lower our bills instead of selling it off to everybody else
@Hugh McGanus: well you just revealed the type of person you are, you have got a lot of class all of it low.
Can’t understand why “our” pension fund cant invest ffs , backwards Ireland
Can’t be that many Canadian teachers versus the pension pot in Ireland
And the show goes on and on. Good sell the wind, it’s free.
A bit like our multi billion corrib gas field off the Mayo coast that fianna fail disgustingly gave away to Shell oil for FREE and jailed locals for complaining now we are buying it back with the dearest gas prices in Europe a great little country to do business in
We sold off our oil rights, now we have sold our air. Our natural resources given away to highest bidder
Renewable energy just isn’t reliable enough and most of it comes from fossil fuels to begin with. Take electric cars. Just because you drive one, it doesn’t mean you aren’t polluting. 20 tonnes of Co2 is emitted into the atmosphere from mining and manufacturing before you even start driving. Only about 35% of our electricity comes from wind and solar. The rest comes from fossil fuels that you use to charge your electric car. It’s a bad idea for RWE to phase out their coal plants by 2030 in Germany. Look what happened three years ago. Germany relied so much on renewable energy that they suffered from crippling shortages and record prices and were forced to increase natural gas imports from Russia. The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine. Fossil fuels are necessary.
Pathetic…we should own this
Carefull now journal your beloved fffg won’t be happy with you highlighting this story. Your job is to keep the irish people wound up about how silly our leaders are when it comes to our natural resourses. If there’s a profit to be had they loketo see a foreign company or group make it.
@Gavin Smartr: 100% correct
These eyesore have absolutely nothing to do with the environment and all of the above article just proves it
These foreign companies say it will reduce cost of electricity. But they charge 84 euros double the cost of gas pre ukraine war.
Some Israeli companies have shares in off shore wind companys
@pauley870: Only a matter of time before they claim the bible says that the offshore areas of Ireland are belonging to them.
Invest millions on onshore for a measily 49.8MW, while ruining local rural communities.
These offshore farms are massive into the thousands of MV and seem worthwhile investing in.
Money needs to be invested in any event, so why waste it destroying rural areas already sodden with wind farms.
The truth about Spanish Holiday Villa back hands will come out for local councillors !!!!!!
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