The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, announced the provisional results of the first offshore wind auction under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1). 

According to the government announcement, the auction results have surpassed expectations, both in terms of the total volume of renewable energy procured and the low price at which it has been secured. The hugely competitive price secured — at an average of €86.05/MWh — is one of the lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world. For comparison, the average wholesale electricity price in Ireland over the past 12 months was in excess of €200/MWh. It is expected that this price will save Irish electricity consumers hundreds of millions of euros per year.

Over 3GW of capacity has been procured from four offshore wind projects, which will deliver over 12TWh of renewable electricity per year. This is the largest volume of renewable energy Ireland has ever procured at auction, equivalent to over a third of Ireland’s entire electricity consumption this year and over a quarter of projected 2030 electricity demand. It is also enough to power over 2.5 million Irish homes with clean electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 1 million tonnes in 2030.

Minister Ryan said that "the provisional results of the ORESS 1 auction are not just a hugely positive story for Irish energy consumers, but for Ireland as a whole. The results are further evidence of what many of us have known for a long time; that we, as a nation, can develop and produce enormous quantities of clean energy – securely and at low cost".

The results announced are provisional and are subject to the normal RESS confirmation and State Aid processes, both of which are expected to be complete by mid-June, as per EirGrid’s published auction timetable.

Under the community benefit fund provisions of ORESS 1, the successful projects are required to make payments to local marine and coastal communities hosting offshore renewable energy projects. These communities will now benefit from over €24 million per year, beginning before construction and continuing for up to 20 years after a project begins to produce renewable energy.