Ireland’s first offshore wind project, the Arklow Bank Offshore Wind Park, has been officially dedicated. Built, owned and operated by GE Energy, seven 3.6 MW turbines occupy the site to deliver 25 MW. The project is sited about 10 km from shore on the Arklow Bank in the Irish Sea.
Co-developed by GE and Airtricity, Ireland’s largest renewable energy company, Arklow Bank was first introduced by Airtricity as a 520 MW project, and is the largest offshore wind park to attain preliminary planning approval from the Irish government. The current project is considered phase I of the overall proposed project but under the terms of the project’s co-development agreement, once the demonstration phase is complete, Zeusford, a company owned 50% by Airtricity and EHN of Spain, holds an option to purchase the project from GE.