Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent)
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191. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for information on why Parkwind’s Oriel Windfarm in Dundalk Bay was unsuccessful in its recent bid to generate electricity from offshore wind; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23942/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The provisional results of the first offshore wind auction under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS 1) were announced on 11 May 2023 by EirGrid, who administer the auction process on behalf of my Department. Reaching this stage of offshore wind deployment is an enormous milestone for Ireland, and from which it will be clearly understood internationally that Ireland is serious about our ambitions for offshore energy, and by extension, our ambitions for renewable energy, emissions reduction, and energy security.

Overall, the provisional results are hugely positive, both in terms of the volume of renewable energy procured and the low price at which it has been secured for up to twenty years. The average price of €86.05 per megawatt hour, is one of the lowest prices in the world paid by an emerging offshore wind market. Over 3GW of offshore wind capacity was procured at the auction. This is the largest volume of renewable energy Ireland has ever procured at auction, sufficient to meet approximately a third of current electricity consumption. It is also enough to power over 2.5 million Irish homes with clean electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 1 million tonnes in 2030. Final ORESS 1 results will be confirmed in June.

Like the onshore auctions before it, RESS 1 and RESS 2, ORESS 1 is a competitive auction-based process in which projects compete against each other, by bidding as low as possible, to ensure maximum value for money for the Irish consumer. As a competitive process, by definition, there must be both successful and unsuccessful participants.

Six projects were eligible to compete in the auction process, by virtue of holding both a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) and a Grid Connection Assessment. These projects submitted bids. Successful bids were determined by EirGrid by selecting bids in ascending order, until the competition ratio was reached, which was independently determined by the CRU. Four of the projects were successful in this process and two projects were unsuccessful.

Unsuccessful participants in ORESS 1 retain their MACs for a limited time period, during which time they may seek an alternative route to market to satisfy the conditions of the MAC.