Planning permission for Irish Arklow Bank wind farm O&M base in place

June 21, 2022 | Renewables | Energy Facts Staff Writer | 2min

Ireland – Planning permission has been granted for the development of an Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) in Arklow Harbour as part of the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 offshore wind project.
SSE Renewables received approval from Wicklow County Council for the proposed operations base in South Dock. The decision will aid in the significant regeneration of The Old Shipyard, a town site in Arklow. The facility will serve as the onshore support base for controlling, operating, and maintaining the offshore wind farm during its operational lifetime once it is operational.

During the operation of the offshore wind farm, it will provide around 80 long-term direct local jobs, including site managers, supervisors, technicians, vessel crew, control room operators, and engineers. During the construction phase of the operations base and the larger wind farm project, hundreds more jobs will be created and maintained.

On the top floor of the four-story Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB), a Sustainable Education Centre will complement Arklow’s Decarbonization Zone status. The Sustainable Education Centre will serve as a connection between the offshore wind farm and the local community, hosting exhibitions, guided tours, and sustainability-themed events.

Significant progress
SSE Renewables has become the first offshore wind energy developer to obtain planning permission in Ireland for the construction of an operations and maintenance facility for a wind farm project.

The decision was made after the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 project made significant progress. SSE Renewables was recently granted planning permission to build the onshore grid infrastructure required to connect the 800MW project to Ireland’s electricity transmission grid, marking a historic first for the Irish offshore wind industry.

In recent weeks, the company filed a Maritime Area Consent Application (MAC) with the Department of Environment, Communications, and Climate. All of these approvals are necessary for the project’s development and contribution to Ireland’s 5GW offshore wind target by 2030.