Shell has signed an agreement with Irish developer Simply Blue Energy to acquire a 51% share of their Simply Blue Energy Kinsale venture, which was set up to develop the Emerald Project, a floating wind farm in the Celtic Sea, off the south coast of Ireland. (Logo quoted from Yahoo’s picture)

The Joint Venture will be operated by Simply Blue Energy supported by Shell floating wind experts, with the project office based in the Cork City Docklands rejuvenation area. This partnership combines the floating wind track-record and local knowledge of Simply Blue Energy with Shell’s offshore experience, floating wind expertise and an ability to develop large complex projects.

The Emerald Project is a fantastic example of the energy transition, located in the vicinity of the Kinsale gas fields, currently being decommissioned. This project will use state-of-the-art renewable floating wind-powered generators. The project is in the early stages and aims to exploit the vast floating wind potential in the Irish part of the Celtic Sea. 300MW of installed capacity is planned initially, with the potential to scale-up to a total installed capacity of 1GW. This is equivalent to powering 800,000 Irish homes or the capacity of the Moneypoint power station, Ireland’s largest electricity generation station.

This “stepping-stone” approach is designed to build the infrastructure necessary to deliver a project of this scale and ultimately enable Ireland to increase its energy independence, while also reducing emissions. Floating wind technology can be installed in deeper waters than fixed wind turbines allowing this project to be placed 35km – 60km offshore, reducing visual impacts. Depending on the size of turbines selected, the first phase of the project will include between 15 and 25 turbines.

The assembly, installation and deployment of these turbines could stimulate hundreds of high-quality jobs in the local supply chain. Long-term operations and maintenance of the turbines will also require local skills and services in Cork Harbour for up to 25 years.

(IRuniverse)

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