Our Project
Location
Celtic Sea
Distance to shore
Approximately 25km to 50km
Capacity
Potential for 1GW per phase
Energy
Up to 4,900GWh/annum per phase, enough to power up approximately 950,000 homes*
Objective of the Project
Manannán will generate green clean electricity and green hydrogen to support a zero carbon and sustainable future.
STATUS OF THE PROJECT
Current Status
The government has set out a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 in the Climate Action Plan. The Department of Environment, Climate, and Communications (DECC) has set out targets of 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030, 2 GW of non-grid limited to be in development by 2030, 20 GW of offshore wind by 2040, and 37 GW of offshore wind by 2050. Our project will contribute to this vision of a green and sustainable future for all. We have identified the Celtic Sea as our proposed preferred site location area. We completed our desktop feasibility study for the production of green hydrogen using offshore clean wind power in the Celtic Sea. Our feasibility study included a desktop environmental constraint analysis of the Celtic Sea area. Offshore wind policy set out by the Department of Environment, Climate, and Communications (DECC) evolved through 2023–2024 and is now known as a plan-led system whereby areas of the sea suitable for offshore wind development in the future will be identified by DECC. In May 2024, DECC published four maritime areas within the south coast designated maritime area plan (DMAP) in the Celtic Sea that are suitable for offshore wind development. Three of these areas will be open to alternative routes to market other than grid connections. One of the policymakers next steps will be to design an auction or award system for these project areas. We may compete for one of those sites or for other future sites or DMAPs in the Celtic Sea. If we are successful in such auctions, we will be consulting with the public, local communities, and the fisheries and seafood industry as part of each stage of the development process.
"We will be consulting with the public, local communities and fisheries/seafood industries..."
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"The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) is a new state agency essentially replacing the foreshore unit under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and has been established under the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act 2021"
HOW THE CONSENTING PROCESS WORKS
The Consenting Process
The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) is a new state agency essentially replacing the foreshore unit under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and has been established under the Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act 2021. It has responsibility for considering Maritime Area Consent (MAC) applications and if it deems appropriate, to grant such consents.
MARA is also responsible for enforcement of the new regulatory regime for Ireland’s maritime area. Maritime Area Consents (MAC) are required by developers seeking exclusive rights to develop within a certain maritime area. A MAC is granted by MARA under the MAP Act 2021. If a MAC is awarded to a project, the developer of that project has exclusive rights to develop a project in that area.
The next step after that is for the project to prepare an environmental impact assessment report (EIAR) to accompany a planning application to An Bord Pleanala. ABP will be responsible for considering the planning application and to grant a planning permit for the project if they deem it appropriate to do so.
