Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 15 July 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs

Planning Challenges in Offshore Renewable Energy: Discussion

2:00 am

Mr. Paul Kelly:

There are a number of test sites around the coast for wave technology. The issue with it is scalability. It depends on what we are trying to achieve. From a test-bed perspective, there are opportunities to test the new technology. Ireland has such a significant marine resource that it should continue to invest in innovation and in exploring ways of bringing on new technology, but we need to do it in a way that protects the consumer in terms of the price of electricity. We need to develop our offshore potential and it needs to be multifaceted. We need to get the first projects on the grid, which would demonstrate that we are an effective place to do business, and then the rising tide will lift all boats in terms of other technologies beyond that.