EDF and Simply Blue team up for gigascale Irish floating wind duo

EDF Renewables Ireland and local developer Simply Blue Group have teamed up to develop two gigascale floating wind projects off the Irish coast.

The partners in a 50:50 joint venture – subject to merger clearance – seek to progress the 1.35GW Western Star project off the west coast of Clare in 100m deep waters and the 1.3GW Emerald project off the south coast of Cork to meet Irish government targets to have 2GW of floating wind in development by 2030.

“Emerald and Western Star will complement our flagship, fixed-bottom foundation, Codling Wind Park development off the east coast of Ireland, diversifying our offshore portfolio in Ireland and strengthening our position as a key player in the UK and Irish offshore markets,” EDF Renewables UK and Ireland CEO Matthieu Hue said.

“These projects further strengthen EDF Renewables’ position as a leading global player in the emerging floating wind industry, joining a portfolio that includes our Gwynt Glas project in the Celtic Sea and Provence Grand Large off the south coast of France.”

The two new projects combined would generate enough green power for about two million Irish homes. The Irish government targets to generate 7GW of offshore wind power by 2030.

Simply Blue Group CEO Sam Roch Perks added: “Simply Blue’s expertise in floating offshore wind, with over 10GW of floating projects in development globally, has been brought to bear on the selection of the two sites, following extensive stakeholder engagement and initial environmental assessments.”