Is Government rushing ahead with offshore wind development, while overlooking maritime concerns?
This week the Swedish Government stopped thirteen offshore wind energy developments in the Baltic Sea because, it had been told by the Swedish Armed Forces, that “sea-based wind power makes it more difficult to defend Sweden. “The Government believes that it would lead to unacceptable consequences for Sweden’s defence to build the current projects in the Baltic Sea area,” the Defence Minister Pål Jonson told a press conference, explaining that, of 14 proposed developments, only one would be allowed go ahead.
The response of the wind energy industry, through WindEurope, the organisation which advocates wind energy policies for Europe on behalf of more than 450 member companies was that this “abrupt cancellation jeopardises the country’s industrial competitiveness and energy security goals. Yet again Sweden is bottom of the class on offshore wind. The Swedish Government has been unhelpful on offshore wind for many years. “
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson was not pleased because most of the projects were at an early state of development and major developers such as OX2, Eolus, Ørsted, RWE, Freja Offshore, Deep Wind Offshore and Statkraft were affected. €47 billion of investments could be lost according to WindEurope, which did not state in its media response to the Swedish Government decision, the profits expected by those companies if the projects went ahead.
Here, also this week, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) published data to support developers likely to be involved in Ireland’s second offshore wind energy (ORE) auction. This is described as ‘Tonn Nua’ – areas off the Cork, Waterford and Wexford. The Marine Institute’s Tom Crean gathered the data between July and September.
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan and the Green Party have been pressing ahead at speed in getting Government approval for offshore wind energy development, the legacy they want to leave from their presence in the Government just terminated for the General Election on November 29. He describes “vast economic benefits” from ORE and said that there will be protection of the marine environment and support for citizens reliant on the sea.
But that is not fully accepted. While there is agreement between maritime interests, the fishing industry about the development of ORE and its value to the nation generally, the Minister’s opinion has been challenged. Concern has been raised – and not fully responded to – about the speed of development and its possible effects on the seabed environment, ecology and traditional fishing grounds. The fishing industry has claimed that it is being brushed aside and that the Government has accepted Green Party pressure, without giving enough attention to the concerns it expressed.
This is the second Phase of ORE development, for which the Government says it has imposed more controls on developers who were allowed more free-rein to choose and decide on locations under Phase One.
There are scientific reports emerging of ecological damage from the speed of ORE development by the UK Government in the North Sea. Hydro International, the worldwide magazine focusing on hydrography recently published the results of a study showing that ongoing offshore wind farm developments could have a profound impact on the structure of coastal marine ecosystems at a basin scale. Wind wakes produced by offshore farms in the North Sea have substantial implications for the marine ecosystem, it found, resulting in significant changes to marine production, not only within wind farm clusters but also in the surrounding region and causing increased sediment carbon content due to reduced current velocities.
ORE can be deadly to birds, a threat to cetaceans and the cause of destabilised phytoplankton levels, which has consequences for marine ecosystems generally, according to other reports.
While proponents of ORE in Phase Two point to the economic benefits, issues of concern focus on whether the true extent of seabed disruption and hazards created are fully known, as well as the impact on marine life and local fisheries and who will be accountable.
Is the Government capable of protecting the safety of Ireland’s waters and the communities dependent upon them, while wind energy favours others and developers make extensive profits?
