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Investigatesoffshore windJUST TWO IRISH companies hold a significant stake in the numerous offshore wind projects currently in the pipeline off the Irish coast.
ESB and Kerry-based wind energy developer Saorgus Energy are involved in two separate projects, but neither is the lead developer.
This means one of Ireland’s most lucrative natural resources is being sold to a range of foreign investors looking to make a profit.
The Journal Investigates analysed financial records to uncover the ultimate controlling parties behind the offshore wind projects.
Among the companies that hold a controlling interest in offshore wind projects are oil and gas companies as well as RWE, a German multinational energy company — one of Europe’s largest CO2 emitters over the last five years.
Greenpeace has labelled investments in offshore wind by fossil fuel companies as greenwashing, pointing to their continued high use of polluting fuels.
Norwegian and French state-owned companies are also investing in Ireland’s offshore wind, as are the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan fund, which previously owned the Irish National Lottery.
The Irish government has committed to achieving at least 5 GW (gigawatts) of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030. That equates to 5,000 MW (megawatts) and is a huge jump from the 25 MW currently installed at Ireland’s only offshore wind farm, located off Arklow.
This is part of its wider goal of reaching an 80% share of renewable electricity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030.
An offshore wind strategy, published by the Department of Enterprise, states that international and foreign investment is a “competitive necessity” in developing the offshore wind market and achieving the climate objectives.
Half of the six projects that are furthest along in development are backed by fossil fuel companies, according to an analysis by The Journal Investigates.
One of these is the Oriel Wind Park project, based off the coast of County Louth. Planning permission has been submitted by the developer for 25 turbines, with a maximum capacity of 375 MW.
The developers say that this project will be able to power 300,000 houses with renewable energy. That is more than all the houses in Co Cork.
The project is ultimately controlled by a partnership between Japan’s largest power generation company, JERA, and oil company, BP.
The ESB is listed as a partner for the project, but they do not hold a controlling share, according to the planning documents reviewed by The Journal Investigates.
Another offshore wind farm project that has ties to large polluters is the Dublin Array.
Located along the Dublin and Wicklow coasts this project is a 50:50 partnership between German multinational energy company RWE and Irish wind farm developer Saorgus Energy.
However, a spokesperson for RWE Renewables Ireland, the Irish arm of the company, told The Journal Investigates that the development is being led by RWE.
Alongside its renewable energy projects, RWE also operates coal and gas power plants across Europe, releasing vast amounts of CO2 emissions.
Planning permission has not yet been submitted for this project, but published proposals say that it will have between 39 and 50 wind turbines, generating a total project capacity of up to 824 MW.
A third project is backed by a partnership between French-state-owned energy company EDF and Bonheur ASA.
The latter is a Norwegian holding company controlled by Fred Olsen & Co, the private investment vehicle of Norwegian billionaire Anette S Olsen whose family originally made their money through shipping.
The Codling Wind Park, located off the Wicklow coast is the largest offshore wind farm that has submitted planning permission with 1,300 MW capacity.
This project alone represents a quarter of the government’s 2030 target for offshore wind.
As with BP and RWE, EDF is active in a range of power generation technologies, including fossil fuels.
Some argue that the involvement of these fossil fuel and energy companies amounts to greenwashing, pointing out that these renewable projects often feature prominently in marketing while the companies continue to emit vast amounts of CO2.
“I wouldn’t misinterpret these investments as a shift in the business model. Definitely not,” Lisa Göldner, the lead campaigner of Greenpeace’s European climate and energy campaign, told The Journal Investigates:
If you look at the advertisements of those companies, you usually see nice offshore wind parks. But the reality is really completely the opposite.
She added that these companies “are securing their shares in businesses that might only start in years or decades to come” and that given the percentage of renewable investments as part of their overall portfolio, in her mind they are “definitely greenwashing”.
A spokesperson for RWE Renewables Ireland told The Journal Investigates that “RWE is committed to the 1.5°C Science Based Targets initiative”. They said the company has set a target to “achieve net zero by 2040 and the phase out of its coal-fired power generation in Germany by 2030”.
They also added that the company was investing billions of euro in wind, solar and batteries “with a clear direction of travel for the future”.
A spokesperson for BP said that their joint venture with JERA is not yet complete and that it cannot comment on the project as a result. JERA referred to a statement from an Oriel project spokesperson that said:
“The Oriel project is well placed to contribute towards Ireland’s 2030 targets for offshore wind, renewable energy, and emissions reduction.” They also said that it plans to sell the electricity that will be generated into the Irish electricity market.
EDF also referred to a statement from the Codling Wind Park project which said: “EDF Renewables is one of Ireland’s leading renewable energy companies and is committed to working closely with the Government and local communities to help deliver 80% of Ireland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.”
Ireland’s offshore wind resources have also attracted large multinational investors in renewable energy.
The North Sea Array, a 700 MW wind farm located off the coast of Dublin, Meath and Louth, is backed by a joint venture between Statkraft and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a Danish investment firm that focuses on investments in green energy projects.
Statkraft is a hydropower company, fully owned by the Norwegian state. The company also invests in wind and solar, owning wind farms in Germany and France.
A spokesperson for the project said Statkraft teamed up with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to “ensure the successful delivery of a project of this scale”, adding that it would “deliver significant investment to local communities”.
Dr Rory Monaghan, a lecturer of mechanical engineering at the University of Galway, said that part of the reason why these projects are backed by large multinational energy companies is because many of them have the expertise required to construct these projects.
“They would all have experience of building offshore wind farms in the North Sea,” he added, saying that Ireland’s port infrastructure also isn’t suitable for offshore wind turbine assembly and that many of these companies would already have existing supply chains through UK ports.
According to a 2022 report by industry lobby group Wind Energy Ireland, Belfast is currently the only port on the island of Ireland that is fully equipped to construct offshore wind farms.
By 2030, the Port of Cork hopes to also support offshore wind farm construction, following recent investment.
The majority of the projects currently in the pipeline are situated along the east coast, particularly along the Wicklow and Dublin coastline. Just one project, Sceirde Rocks, is based on the west coast.
This, Dr Monaghan explains, is due to the rough sea conditions and deeper water that present additional engineering challenges for projects on the west.
The Sceirde Rocks project, he said, is a unique case as it is partly sheltered by Galway Bay and there are shallower waters around that part of the coast.
This project is backed by a joint venture between offshore developer Corio Generation, which is owned by an Australian investment bank, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
The latter may be familiar to Irish readers, having previously owned the company behind the National Lottery, before selling it to French lottery operator Française des Jeux in 2023.
A spokesperson for Corio Generation confirmed ownership of the project, while a spokesperson for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan declined to comment.
The last of the six proposed offshore wind farms is on the Arklow Bank, off Co Wicklow. This is the second phase of offshore wind farms in this location.
It consists of 56 wind turbines generating 800 MW of electricity and is being developed by Scottish energy company SSE plc.
The current Arklow Bank wind farm in operation (phase one) which has seven wind turbines and a total of 25 MW capacity is to be decommissioned. The operator, Arklow Energy Limited which is owned by GE Vernova, submitted proposals about the decommissioning to An Bord Pleanála last month.
A spokesperson told us it has “reached the end of its operating life” and that they “will work with local officials to complete the decommissioning process in a safe, timely, and responsible manner”.
It may be some time before wind turbines begin to appear on our coastal skyline.
A number of the developments are experiencing planning delays. Of the five projects that have submitted planning applications to An Bord Pleanála, three decisions are overdue since December.
Industry lobby group, Wind Energy Ireland, said that quick but robust decisions are needed on these projects if Ireland is going to hit its 2030 climate targets.
“We cannot afford to have projects spending years in the planning system while families are struggling with their bills and we are spending millions importing fossil fuels,” Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs with Wind Energy Ireland, told The Journal Investigates.
He added that while the additional funding provided to An Bord Pleanála to deal with these project applications was welcome, “more is necessary to provide the people and the expertise our planning system needs”.
A spokesperson for An Bord Pleanála did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Reporter: Conor O’Carroll • Editors: Maria Delaney & Susan Daly • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly
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Ol granny used say…..’ what’s good for the goose is good for the gander’
@Frank Mc Carthy: Make America Gander Again.
@Frank Mc Carthy: Did this fictitious personage not say ‘What’s *sauce* for the goose …’?
@Setanta O’Toole: Make American Trans Gander Again..
@If you’re: so back the natives because the natives have a very trans way of living
@Frank Mc Carthy:
So everyone in America should be let out of jail…
Everyone should just quote the Hunter Pardon and be let out jail…
Note: Hunter has been investigated by a special prosectuor team for 6 years for crimes that are not jailable offences for a normal US Citizen. Hunter has cooperated with the investigation and even got a deal with a Trump appointed prosecutor.
Trump on the other hand interfered with witnesses and refused to acknowledge his guilt. By Trump not admitting guilt, he saying he would break the law again..
Hunter clearly showed he subject to US Law and trump has shown that he believes he is above the law.
@Jack Dermody: Trump is not in jail so whatever you were trying to say is pointless
The choice of photo of Trump shows opinion.
@thomas molloy: Nothing gets past you.
@Louis Jacob: Well, we never seen an equivalent photo of Kamala Harris in Irish media. Has something changed in the world of supposedly fair journalism. ?
@thomas molloy: Have you not seen the video of Kamalla released this week. All the progressive sites showed it. It’s hardly flattering.
@thomas molloy: is there such a thing as a decent picture of trump? He is an elderly and obese perma fake tanned man with a Bet Lynch-esque sweep on his barnet.
@thomas molloy: It’s Trump looking mega-smug: a trademark look that his supporters normally love.
Old Joe must have seen this coming, having left the door wide open for Trump to flaunt.
@Toyo Ke: When first heard of the pardon, I thought it a bad move, but when review the convictions, jail time is not a normal outcome after pay the IRS back what owed with interest, and the same for applying for a gun while a felon. Unless actually committed a further offence, jail is abnormal.
We’ve been hearing about all the so-called evidence on Hunter’s laptop for years now without seeing any proof.
So yeah, I think it was Biden simply exercising some of his remaining power to save his son from dying in jail for things that wouldn’t ordinarily get sent to.jail for.
The door was already open. Trump would have been trying to do this sort of stuff regardless. He’d already stated his intentions.
All this changes is the narrative for what was already going to happen.
@ben wu: Arwa Mahdawi in the Guardian:
‘Look, I can certainly understand why Biden wants to protect his child. We all want to protect our children. But one thing Biden’s presidency, and his enabling of what many experts have termed a genocide in Gaza, has made clear is that the law doesn’t protect all children equally. As I write this, the former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant – who has an active warrant for his arrest from the international criminal court (ICC) – is in New York before meeting with members of the Biden administration. His invitation to the US is essentially a middle finger to international law and the ICC from Biden, who has continuously shielded Israel from facing any sort of accountability. That’s a far bigger deal to me than Biden pardoning Hunter but it’s part of the same problem: a two-tiered justice system that routinely shields the powerful and punishes the powerless. Some people are born Hunters, others prey.’
@Toyo Ke: trump pardoned all sorts of cret–inous creatures or have you forgotten that. Even made one of them an ambassador after that.
@Brendan O’Brien: That’s a fair point as a wider discussion, but not really salient to this topic of pardons.
USA is not a signatory country to the ICC, neither is Israel.
@ben wu: Agreed. The article is worth reading, though, as most of it is salient. I think it was a bad move by Biden.
@Brendan O’Brien: It’s not chess. It’s his son’s life. It was the right thing to do. His family have suffered too much for his political ambitions. Any father would do the same.
@Louis Jacob: I think the law should be allowed to take its course. Interference like this will only increase people’s disrespect for the law, regardless of the circumstances of this case.
@Brendan O’Brien: At that point, it would suggest that presidential pardons in general aren’t a great idea.
Biden hasn’t done the usual swathe of them yet, so it shows there’s a particular need for this one to happen now.
@Dave G Doe: persecution complex for sure.
@Louis Jacob: then why not go through the official channels of pardons office Louis? Why has it been back dated to January 2014? It’s a bad move, as if Joe Biden is ever taken to court Hunter will have to give evidence and will not be able to use the 5th to get out of it. Biden thought he was covering his own back, but this could back fire on him big time
@Louis Jacob: How have they suffered for his political ambitions?
@ben wu: cause they’re authoritarian countries that cosplay as democracies. They’ll trumpet the ICC when it suits them .
@Paul Hayes: Well, USA was a big player in forming the ICC, but then didn’t want their people subject to the sort of crimes it rules on, so didn’t sign up to it.
Getting back to topic at hand, it’s worth noting that Trump pardoned 4 Blackwater operatives that were fully responsible for the Nisour Square.17 unarmed civilians killed and another 20 wounded.
That his Education Secretary was the sister of the CEO of that company, I’m sure had nothing to do with it.
@Ted Daly: No, I hadn’t forgotten how Trump pardoned plenty of critters days before leaving the office last time, still, the card played right into Trumps hand
First thing Trump should do is Pardon the George Floyd cops.
@Dan Murphy: The murder charges are state charges and cannot be pardoned by the POTUS. Typical grasp of law for a Trumper you have.
Trump pardoned a dozen drug traffickers, bypassed and ignored the DoJ’s input, pardoned dozens of republican elected officials, business cronies, lawyers, friends, donors and campaign officials. He promised to pardon January 6th criminals who beat cops. I don’t care about Biden pardoning his last remaining son.
@Jack Hayes: he pardoned himself by pardoning his son. All those dodgy deals and shakedowns with big businesses in Asia and Ukraine that Hunter fronted. He always referred to the big guy, like ” the big guy said he’ll do it, ” or ” I spoke to the big guy and he signed off on going ahead with the transaction”. Biden and his son are as bent and crooked as an S hook. That’s why Biden back dated the pardon.
It’s nothing compared to what trump is going to do when he gets back to the office, but that’s what the American people voted for.
@Philip Slevin: Yes, soon to be known as Adolf Trump.
So many people cleaned up on Trump, all my bets came up plus i laid the corpse & Harris. Happy days. A fella in France had 28 million on Trump, wise man.
@Robert Bell: what a clown comment. Imagine being happy a multiple sexual assaulter of women, convincted felon, bankruptee, failed former president, carpet bagged, draft dodger, serial liar and golfer of over 25% of his last shambles back in the oval office. Maybe he can ask questions like can we nuke the next hurricane again or perhaps finally learn what a tariff is. Appalling stuff.
@Robert Bell: All your bets came up in a 2 horse race? You’re a regular genius.
Plus, why would you lay bets in a two horse race in an unlimited market, when you would have to offer higher odds? Seems abit dopey unless you’re a licensed bookie.
You had a good little fib going there, but you just took it too far.
@Louis Jacob: Unless you mean you had sex with a corpse.
@Ted Daly: You OK Hun.
@Robert Bell: so you’ve got a gambling problem.
Thanks for letting us all know.
Sad.
@Fergus O’Donnell: He sure does. He doesn’t seem to know how it works.
@Louis Jacob: I guess you do not know how Betfair works!! You can bet & lay on same horse, match, whatever. I backed Trump at 7-1 nothing dopey about that! plus laid the corpse @ 6-4 & harris just under evens.
@Fergus O’Donnell: your opinion is different to reality.
@Robert Bell: Betfair is accused in the UK of recently driving one young man to suicide… With their behaviour I mean obviously some personal responsibility comes in but it sounds quite shady
Pardon my French but f… Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
@Anthony Curran: Now you said it. Two slieveens is all they are. But what the boys on here spend their morning getting all butthurt about them.
@Louis Jacob: *watch
“No one’s above the law”… sure, for us lowly saps.
Shocker.
@Setanta O’Toole: trump pardoned some serious traitors. Behave.
@Ted Daly: Good man Ted.
Biden has now given Trump complete free reign for Trump to pardon Don Jr for all the pints he pretended to pay for for the locals in Doonbeg a few years ago.
These pardons are ridiculous regardless of who issues themselves. Pardoning one’s self is an act of a guilty man.
As if Trump wasn’t gonna push for himself to be excused while Jailing Hunter for as long as possible anyways.
Trump is a horrible excuse for a human being
Putin’s B Achoo.
Anyone know what’s going on with this? The Journal seems to be ” oblivious”.
@Fidgenti: I could do without reading the same identical information that has already been reported elsewhere.
@Jack Hayes: That doesn’t really answer the question I asked.
@Fidgenti: Not much of a story until there’s a name.
@Brendan O’Brien: The withholding of the name seems a bit suspicious.Maybe someone is afraid releasing the name might be injurious to the establishment of a new government.
Absolute lunatic this fella
@Derek O Gorman: have you been writing homophobic comments again or u taking a break
How many of the same cowards who ‘elected’ Michael Lowry would back a Trump? Let’s face it. Inverted commas because I’m sorry but if people believe that Lowry was always democratically elected… Hah !
Pardon Ross Ulbricht.
As much as I dislike him, he for once has a point. Did not see the rationale in Biden “pardoning” his son.
have your say