SSE Ireland selects Arklow Harbour as O&M site for 520 MW Irish offshore wind farm

Arklow Harbour on Ireland’s East Coast has been selected by SSE Renewables as the preferred location for the Operations and Maintenance Base for its planned 520MW Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 offshore wind farm. 

The new base location at Arklow Harbour’s South Dock will operate as a hub for the new offshore wind farm and will be home to 80 full-time employees who will be recruited to work on its operation and maintenance. The facility will comprise new purpose-built office and warehouse buildings as well as adjacent quayside berthing for up to four crew transfer vessels. In addition, the development will support companies across the supply chain, including those involved in vessel services and site survey, hospitality, fuel, consultancy, logistics, and stevedoring.

SSE Renewables has entered into land option agreements at Arklow’s South Dock to progress the development. These include an option to purchase an industrial yard known locally as ‘The Old Shipyard’ on the harbor’s South Dock for the development of offices and warehousing. The company has also entered into option agreements to ‘step into’ two existing lease agreements with Wicklow County Council for adjoining industrial land which also forms part of ‘The Old Shipyard’ site, as well as an area of the quayside at the South Dock for vessel berthing and pontoons.

Once completed, the wind farm is expected to power around half a million homes each year with green energy, offsetting around 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions or a 1% reduction in Ireland’s annual carbon emissions.