The Irish Department for Climate, Energy and the Environment has provisionally awarded Ørsted and the Irish energy company ESB the right to develop the Tonn Nua area, which covers 306 km² off the coast of County Waterford. The award involves a 20-year, partially indexed contract for difference with a purchase price of €98.719 per MWh to support the development of a 900 MW offshore wind farm.
The area is the only one included in Ireland's second offshore wind auction under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) Tonn Nua.
This is stated by Ørsted in a press release.
- We would like to commend the Irish Government for running a successful auction that continues the Government's support for the development of offshore wind in Ireland. Offshore wind will play an important role in the future Irish energy system and will help to ensure green, secure and cost-effective energy. Together with our joint venture partner ESB, we will now carefully assess and mature this development opportunity, which is in an early stage of development, and ensure that the project meets our criteria for value creation, says Alana Kühne, Head of Ørsted’s Development Activities in Region Europe.
The project is at an early stage and must now be assessed and go through approval processes before a final investment decision can be made. That decision is expected around 2031, while the first power is expected to be delivered in the mid-2030s. The Irish system operator, EirGrid, will be responsible for the construction of the transmission facilities for the project, which must be operational by 1 January 2037 at the latest according to the terms of the contract for difference.
The joint venture between Ørsted and ESB was established in 2023 as a 50/50 partnership with the aim of developing a portfolio of offshore wind projects off the Irish coast. Tonn Nua is the first project the partnership has participated in an offshore wind auction with.
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