Ireland’s Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has published a National Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) Proposal to determine the future development and management of offshore renewable energy resources off the country’s coast.
The National DMAP for Offshore Renewable Energy Proposal will provide a ‘clear and sustainable framework’ for developing offshore renewable energy, balancing ‘economic growth, environmental protection, and community engagement to support Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon future’, the department said in a statement.
The National DMAP will seek to designate renewable energy sites located around Ireland’s coastline that are suitable for offshore wind development, including fixed, floating, and floating demonstration locations.
It forms part of the government’s commitment to accelerate offshore wind development, as Ireland seeks to realise its objective of securing 20 GW of offshore wind by 2040.
‘Offshore renewables ambition’
“The National Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy supports our decarbonisation efforts and our offshore renewables ambition of 20 GW by 2040,” commented Darragh O’Brien TD, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.
“Having a single National DMAP for ORE in place to follow on from the Phase One projects and the South Coast DMAP for ORE published last year will provide greater certainty for our marine stakeholders and the renewables industry.”
The launch of the plan was accompanied by a Public Participation Statement (PPS), which will provide information for how “environmental and fisheries sectors […] and indeed all stakeholders, can take part in the process,” the Minister added. “We therefore strongly encourage all interested parties to engage in the future public participation and consultation opportunities over the development of this plan.”
Extensive public and stakeholder consultation on the National DMAP Proposal is set to take place over the course of 2026 and 2027, with the government expecting the National DMAP to be completed in 2027 and presented to government for approval.
‘Significant and expensive challenge’
“For Ireland, human-generated climate change presents a significant and expensive challenge to which our communities must adapt,” added Timmy Dooley, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment with responsibility for Fisheries and the Marine.
“In addition, the continuing unpredictability of geopolitical events has made our dependency on fossil fuels unreliable and unaffordable. These combined pressures reinforce the need for Ireland to accelerate its transition to indigenous and transformative renewable energy sources.” Read more here.
