• Project

An extensive site selection process and feasibility study was undertaken in Spring 2020. This involved analysing a range of issues including water depth, wind data, existing wind farms, oil and gas operations, designated sites, fisheries, cable and pipelines, archaeology and aggregate resource constraint considerations.

Details

The Kinsale Offshore Wind Farm is one of Inis Offshore Wind’s proposed offshore wind projects. Work began in early 2020 in response to the Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan.




Location

 The site is proposed to be located a minimum 14km and up to 33km off the Cork Coast.

Site Area

 The total site area is 320km² however the ultimate site will be refined over time and the eventual wind farm area will be substantially less than this area.

Capacity

 Should the project successfully progress through planning to construction, it is hoped that capacity of up to 1000MW can be brought into production by 2030 generating green electricity for 900,000 homes.

Foreshore Investigation Licence Application

In February 2021, a Foreshore Investigation Licence (FSIL) application was submitted to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the site array. The foreshore licence only covers the site area within 12NM which is equivalent to 167km2. The grant of a Foreshore Licence permits the right to undertake preliminary site investigation survey work for the area that would be part of Kinsale Offshore Wind Farm. A separate Foreshore Licence was applied for in August 2022, to cover the offshore grid connection and landfall for the proposed site.





Outcome

The outcome of the site investigation surveys in conjunction with desktop studies, will assist in determining the possibility of developing an offshore wind farm in this area. This work will also be used to inform the refined area for the wind farm within the licence boundary and will provide the baseline data for the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) for the planning application.

Planning

Should the site be deemed suitable, Inis Offshore Wind aim to seek a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) from the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) and development planning permission for the project from An Bord Pleanala at the appropriate time under the terms of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021.

Application

The application documents submitted to the Department will be posted on this page when the application is accepted by the department. A link to the application on the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s website can be found here for the site array and the cable Area of Search. Further Environmental documents linked to the applications will be published during public consultation.




Project Map

The site is proposed to be located a minimum 14km and up to 33km off the Cork Coast. The site area is 320km2 however the ultimate site will be refined over time and the eventual wind farm area will be substantially less than this area. Should the project successfully progress through planning to construction, it is hoped that capacity of up to 1000MW can be brought into production by 2030 generating green electricity for 900,000 homes.