With ORESS 1 concluded, ORESS 2 and 3 are ready to allocate 1.9 GW offshore wind in Ireland

May 19, 2023
 | 
2 min read
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Minimum 1.9 GW fixed-bottom offshore wind will be subsidized in Ireland in 2023 and 2024 in auctions with opportunities for new players entering the market.

Ireland’s first offshore wind auction, called ORESS 1, awarded subsidies for 3.1 GW offshore wind last week, split across four projects with an average bid price of ~86 EUR/MWh.

The 3.1 GW awarded in ORESS 1 was part of Phase 1 in Ireland’s plan to meet its target of deploying 5 GW offshore wind by 2030. To procure the remaining 1.9 GW of offshore wind targeted by 2030, Ireland is already planning Phase 2, which will contain at least two auctions:

🔹ORESS 2 is planned for late 2023 and will offer support for 700 MW offshore wind in a specific area off the south coast to fill available grid capacity identified by the TSO, EirGrid.
ORESS 2 may be a notable opportunity for new developers. As the exact area hasn’t yet been decided, one of the key licenses that projects normally need to have secured before bidding in an auction, the Maritime Area Consent, may not be a requirement to participate, smoothing the process for newcomers.

Following ORESS 2, Ireland must still award 1.2 GW offshore wind to meet it’s 5 GW by 2030 target. There will therefore be an ORESS 3 auction, potentially in early 2024.

🔹ORESS 3 projects must be able to come online by 2030 and must be located in pre-defined areas close to available capacity in the onshore grid.

The location of the areas for ORESS 3 isn’t known yet, but could be based on where there is free grid capacity on the east coast because of unsuccessful Phase 1 projects. This could mean that the two Phase 1 projects that were unsuccessful in ORESS 1 will be able to compete again in ORESS 3 – but it could also create opportunities for new players in the Irish offshore wind market.


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