The Irish Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has awarded the joint venture formed by ESB and Orsted the rights to develop the Tonn Nua offshore wind site, located off the coast of County Waterford and covering 306 km².
Tonn Nua has been designated as the sole site for bidders under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) Tonn Nua, Ireland’s second offshore wind auction. The auction provides a partially indexed 20-year contract for difference (CfD), along with the right to apply for a seabed lease and grid connection for the winning bidder. The CfD will support the development of a 900 MW fixed-bottom offshore wind farm at the Tonn Nua site.
The project is currently in an early phase of development. It will undergo detailed assessment, maturity checks, and must pass all gates in the joint venture’s stage-gate process, including meeting the value creation criteria. The final investment decision is expected around 2031, with first power anticipated in the mid-2030s.
Alana Kuhne, Head of Region Europe Development at Orsted, said the auction highlights Ireland’s strong support for offshore wind. She added that Orsted and ESB will carefully assess and progress the project to ensure it meets value creation criteria.
Jim Dollard, Executive Director at ESB, said Tonn Nua provides a clear pathway for significant offshore wind development, boosting energy security and price certainty for Irish consumers.
The Tonn Nua development is a fixed-bottom offshore wind farm under the ORESS Tonn Nua support scheme, Ireland’s second offshore renewable energy auction and the first under the state-led planning regime. The next steps include securing a Maritime Area Consent and Marine Usage Licence from the Irish Maritime Area Regulatory Authority to begin surveying and assessment, followed by submitting a planning application.
Contract for Difference (CfD)
The two-way CfD has been awarded at a strike price of EUR 98.719 per MWh and will run for 20 years from the wind farm’s commissioning, expected in the mid-2030s. Ireland’s transmission system operator, EirGrid, will construct the offshore and onshore substations and export cables. The project must be operational by 1 January 2037 under the CfD terms.
The ESB-Orsted joint venture, established in 2023, is a 50/50 partnership focused on developing offshore wind projects off the Irish coast. Tonn Nua is the first site under this partnership to progress to auction, marking a major milestone in Ireland’s offshore wind expansion.
Baburajan Kizhakedath