Why offshore wind

Offshore wind has a vital role to play in our clean energy future. In Northern Ireland we have one of the best wind resources in Europe. This vast, natural resource provides a fantastic opportunity to tackle the climate emergency and improve our energy security by using clean, local resources, rather than relying on fossil fuels from overseas. And in doing so, building a new industry, bringing jobs and investment to our economy.

Wind energy is one of Northern Ireland’s main tools in the fight against climate change. It cuts our carbon emissions by millions of tonnes every year and currently provides almost half of the country’s electricity. However, we need to do more.

All Northern Ireland’s existing wind farms are onshore. By locating offshore, the wind turbines can benefit from more consistent wind speeds and the turbines can be larger, with higher towers and longer blades that are not feasible to build onshore. This means a single offshore wind turbine can generate as much as three or four modern onshore turbines.