The first of a series of online public consultations has opened for a new flagship offshore windfarm off the Wicklow coast.

The Codling Wind Park is in the early stages of development and will see the construction of approximately 140 wind turbines, each of which are 320 metres in height.

The wind farm stretches across 125km2 and at full capacity will generate around 1,500MW of renewable electricity annually. To put this in context, this is enough to power 1.2m Irish homes.

Offshore

The windfarm will be located 13-22km off the Wicklow coast, between Greystones and Wicklow town. With wind speeds of 9.7 m/s at 130m above sea level and shallow waters with depths ranging from 10 to 25 metres, the Codling Bank area is an area which is particularly well suited to offshore wind.

The development will be Ireland’s largest offshore windfarm and represent one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in Ireland this decade.

It is being developed by Codling Wind Park Ltd (CWPL), a 50-50 joint venture between Fred Olsen Renewables and EDF Renewables. Both companies are large developers, owners and operators of international renewable energy projects.

Online

Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, face-to-face meetings are not possible and so a series of online consultations will take place from 1 March to 27 March.

Further phases of consultation are planned for the summer and autumn.

The onshore and offshore planning applications are expected to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála in late 2021 or early 2022, alongside a single environmental impact assessment report.

If all necessary permits and consents have been received, Codling could begin construction in 2024/25. Construction is expected to take two to three years to complete.