- SSE Renewables get to build an 800MW onshore grid project
- Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 is a follow-up to GE Energy’s 25.2-MW Arklow Bank wind farm.
SSE Renewables has received approval to build the onshore grid infrastructure needed to connect the 800-MW Arklow Bank Wind Park phase 2 project in the Irish seas to the national grid.
Under Ireland’s new marine regime, the planning proposal was approved by the national independent planning body An Bord Pleanala, SSE Renewables, announced earlier this week. The developer needed the approval to move forward with the permitting procedure, which involves gaining consent for the project’s offshore infrastructure and filing a Maritime Area Consent application with the government (MAC).
The favourable An Bord Pleanala judgement allows for building a 220-kV substation in Arklow, County Wicklow, an underground cable network and ancillary equipment to the landfall site and a link to the national transmission system.
Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 is a follow-up to GE Energy’s 25.2-MW Arklow Bank wind farm, completed in 2003/04. The proposed wind farm, which might cost up to EUR 2.5 billion (USD 2.68 billion), will be built between 6 and 13 kilometres off the shore of County Wicklow.
Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 is expected to be fully operational in 2029, with first power expected in 2028. It is planned to power almost 850,000 houses yearly.