ESB and Parkwind have reached an agreement to jointly develop two offshore wind farms in the Republic of Ireland.

ESB

Image: Parkwind and ESB partner to develop Irish offshore wind farm. Photo: Courtesy of Parkwind.

As part of the agreement, ESB will acquire up to 35% stake in the Oriel offshore wind farm.

The 330MW Oriel offshore wind farm will be located in the Irish Sea off the coast of Dundalk and is expected to begin operations early next year.

Once operational, the Oriel offshore wind farm will generate enough clean electricity to cover the needs of about 280,000 Irish households, mostly for the population in counties Louth and Meath, while helping to avoid nearly 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum, had the energy been generated from conventional power plants.

Parkwind co-CEO Francois Van Leeuw said: “Parkwind is continuously looking for strategic partnerships when developing projects. This partnership is driven by the strategy of the company which is based on a long-term vision whereby we not only develop, but also operate our projects. A strong local partner such as ESB is the right match to further execute this strategy.”

Parkwind will continue to lead the project from its Dublin offices by closely collaborating with ESB.

The two companies will also work together on the Clogherhead project for which ESB holds a foreshore license to begin site investigations. Parkwind will acquire up to 35% stake of the Clogherhead project which is expected to be developed under a separate planning application.

Leeuw said: “Since its entry into the Oriel project, Parkwind has performed a lot of development activities, opened offices in Dublin and is today delighted to welcome ESB to the Oriel project team. We look forward to working with ESB and local stakeholders in making the Oriel and the Clogherhead projects a success.”

Last October, Parkwind completed financial close for the construction of the 219MW Northwester 2 off the coast of Belgium. This wind farm will be built 50km from the coast of Ostend. This is the fourth offshore wind farm for Parkwind.

The company secured nearly €700m in funding from its shareholders and financial institutions for this project.