Irish ports continue to exhibit a keen interest in participating in Ireland’s emerging ORE industry. A number of ports have developed plans that respond to the need for port infrastructure to service the needs of ORE developers. Applications for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility have been made by some ports and planning applications to An Bord Pleanála are in preparation.
IMDO continues to support Irish ports in their efforts to deliver the necessary ORE infrastructure and in recent times the IMDO has participated in many national and international events and conferences to advance Irish ORE interests. These include the Wind Europe event in Bilbao, the Wind Energy Ireland conference in Dublin and we presented to an inward trade mission from Scotland to give an overview of Irish ports and their plans for ORE.
Inward Scottish Trade Mission:
Scottish Development International visited Ireland in March with representatives from 16 organisations in Scotland's offshore wind supply chain to learn more about the Irish market, develop relationships and strengthen the ties between Scotland and Ireland.
The two-day visit provided the Scottish delegation with the opportunity to meet with a range of Irish stakeholders including developers, industry bodies and the Irish supply chain.
The companies listened to presentations from IMDO, Wind Energy Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. These presentations focused on the Irish offshore wind sector, the developments that have been made and what is yet to come, the opportunities to collaborate with the Irish supply chain and how it will impact the ports.
The companies also met with key developers in Ireland. They heard about their plans for Ireland and shared their solutions for the offshore wind market. These included ESB, SSE Renewables, Bord na Mona, SBM Offshore and RWE.
Wind Europe in Bilbao:
The WindEurope Annual Event took place from 20th-22nd March in Bilbao. The event was attended by over 12,000 people with over 500 companies exhibiting and 14 Government Ministers in attendance.
The theme for the event was “our wind, our value”. The event highlighted the value that wind energy brings to people: for their energy security, national security, the benefits to local communities, the jobs and investments and how wind supports nature and biodiversity. And how wind contributes to Europe’s values.
We had a very productive few days at this event. There was an excellent turnout from Ireland from right across Industry, Government and Research. The Irish maritime industry including Irish ports and shipping companies will be at the forefront of Ireland and Europe’s transition to a clean energy future.
Wind Energy Ireland event in Dublin:
The IMDO attended the Offshore Wind 2024 event which took place on 2nd and 3rd March in Dublin and is Ireland’s most important annual offshore event in one of Europe’s most exciting and rapidly developing markets.
Minister Ryan launched the first South Coast DMAP. The DMAP will identify specific areas for future offshore renewable energy development on the South Coast and is a hugely significant step in meeting the next phase of Ireland’s offshore wind ambitions.
The IMDO had a number of meetings at the event with stakeholders across Government, industry and ports and also with a number of international visitors to the event, for which there has already been some really successful follow ups in terms of introductions to other EU ports and terminals that are market leaders in offshore wind.
The IMDO is also continuing our engagement with international ports and have met with a number of international ports to understand how they have responded to the needs of the Offshore wind sector from a technical and investment perspective.
Following engagement with Wind Europe, the IMDO has now been approved as a member of the ports platform, which is a fantastic development as it gives us more access to market intelligence regarding the response of European ports to ORE.