This study of Ireland’s shipping and ports infrastructure begins by establishing the geographical distribution of ocean renewable energy around the Irish coast. This is necessary to determine the appropriate port resources needed for developments at the various coastal locations. In general it is established that the east coast is best placed to support fixed offshore wind and tidal installations, whereas the south and west coasts are best placed to support wave, fixed and floating wind installations. In terms of shipping, the study assesses the vessel type and the numbers required for various deployment scenarios for marine renewable energy in Ireland, under the heading of Offshore Wind, using an example of the fleet deployed during the installation of the Thanet offshore windfarm in UK waters. It is shown that an assorted fleet of up to 35 specialised vessels is necessary for this scale of deployment. Ireland has a vibrant ports sector which is well placed to service the needs of the offshore renewable energy industry. In the near future, offshore development will be focused on the fixed offshore wind industry.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) appointed GL Garrad Hassan (GLGH) to undertake an assessment of the industrial development potential of offshore wind in Ireland. The assessment is intended to assist SEAI and the Government of Ireland in analysing and developing targets, programmes and policies to develop Ireland’s offshore wind energy resources. The scope of work covered three broad areas; the current situation for offshore wind in Ireland, a review of international technology and supply trends in the industry, and scenario modelling to analyse the industrial development potential associated with varying degrees of future offshore wind deployment activity in Irish waters. The report finds that offshore wind development in Ireland to date has been hampered by issues surrounding project economics, consenting and grid connection and that strong political will is required to address existing barriers and align procedures. If Ireland is to compete for notable industrial development along the offshore supply chain it is necessary that such political action occurs in a timely fashion and offshore wind is not seen in post-2020 terms. The report investigates demand levels for major equipment and services under three build-rate scenarios for offshore wind in Ireland through to 2030; Low, Medium and High.

And this presents a challenge: we must envisage our ambition for many years in the future, and we must now take the preparatory steps to achieve this ambition. The challenge is clear in ocean energy, where I have no doubt Ireland has a tremendous opportunity to develop not only a huge source of clean energy, but also deliver a sizeable enterprise sector in the process. But it will take time. Ocean energy is a nascent industry in Ireland, yet, we anticipate that investment in ocean energy, today, will enable an industry to develop along a pathway that can eventually produce a vibrant maritime energy sector. Why ocean energy? It is Ireland’s greatest energy resource. Our ocean territory extends to an area ten times our land area, and includes seas with some of the strongest wave energy content in the world. It is inevitable that this resource will be exploited – it is a clean, carbon free renewable indigenous energy resource that could not only meet Ireland’s energy needs but could also be exported across Europe. But realizing this future vision depends on many technological developments that are today far from ready. This Roadmap is our first attempt to map out how the ocean energy sector in Ireland could look in 2050.

The OE economic modelling evaluated 9 possible scenarios based on a combination of the following main scenarios: • Technology development and deployment scenarios: Optimistic, Central, Pessimistic. • Potential island of Ireland market share scenarios (local and global): Whale, Shark, Minnow. There is currently sound quantitative evidence that by 2030 a fully developed island of Ireland OE sector providing a home market and feeding a global market for RE could produce a total Net Present Value (NPV) of around €9 billion and many thousands of jobs to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Irish economies. It is possible that an island of Ireland wave energy industry meeting the 500MW 2020 target could produce at least 1,431 additional FTE jobs and an NPV of €0.25bn, increasing to 17,000-52,000 FTE jobs and an NPV of between €4-10bn by 2030. This is dependent upon achieving sufficient technology learning rates - most likely encouraged and maintained initially through a form of capital and/or operational subsidy. Similarly a tidal industry providing 200MW of capacity by 2020 may deliver around 600 FTE jobs and an NPV of €111m, increasing to 8,500-17,000 FTE jobs and an NPV of between €1.5-2.75bn by 2030.

This Study, undertaken by RPS Ltd, is intended as an initial exploration of the engineering and infrastructural challenges and opportunities associated with the development of marine renewable energy. This is a new energy sector and, with no commercial systems yet in operation may be truly described as ‘frontier’ technology. Emerging commercial systems for harnessing offshore wind represent a more developed area of Ocean Energy. By exploring the engineering, infrastructure and logistics content associated with the deployment of 250MW of mixed wave and tidal energy projects, the Study illustrates many of the issues which Ireland must address if we are to reap the economic benefits implicit in a long-term scenario where GWs of marine renewable energy projects are deployed offshore Ireland. There are substantial challenges for the engineering, ports and shipping sectors, if these benefits are to be realised. The potential rewards, however, are very great and are based on a sustainable resource. It is also the case that benefits will accrue to industry across the island as a whole, a vision which underlies the close and ongoing interaction between the OEDU and counterparts in Northern Ireland.

Ireland has a target of supplying 13.2% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2010. The majority of this target is likely to be supplied from wind energy. It is likely that targets will increase in the longer term. This will require large deployments of other forms of renewable energy. Ocean energy, both wave and marine current tidal energy, may have a role to play in meeting longer term targets in Ireland. The resource, particularly the wave energy resource, is vast. Before these technologies become commercially viable researchers and developers must overcome the challenge of developing low cost, highly reliable, integrated systems. Given current efforts to develop technology, ocean energy may be deployed in small scale demonstrations by 2010; however it is not expected to contribute significantly to Ireland’s electricity supply before 2020. It is proposed to implement an ocean energy strategy to advance the speed at which ocean energy technologies are deployed in Ireland by increasing the capacity for research and development, both within academic institutions and commercial entities developing devices in Ireland. A structured and phased strategy of development supports may enable Ireland to utilize its ocean energy resource within a decade. The result could also see Ireland positioned with the potential to become a world leader in the manufacture and use of ocean energy systems.

This report examines the potential to harness Ireland’s ocean energy (OE) resources to produce electricity and the associated opportunity to develop an OE industry in Ireland. Existing work, both in Ireland and internationally, suggests that there are opportunities to develop a competitive industrial sector around ocean energy in Ireland. The technology is at an advanced experimental stage and there are prospects of commercial production being possible in the near future. However, a key question is whether the potential is sufficient to warrant Ireland engaging in a long-term programme of development. Consultation work by Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Marine Institute underlines the potential. It also indicates that there are considerable risks. The aims of the study are to identify the potential economic contribution of ocean energy to Ireland and to devise a rational, viable, and economically feasible strategy to promote the development of the sector. Ireland’s ability to develop an ocean energy industry can be summarised in a SWOT analysis, which provides an assessment of the overall capability of the Irish economy. This indicates the following...