Offshore wind: As one door closes, another opens to green hydrogen

Offshore wind: As one door closes, another opens to green hydrogen

The recent suspension of new federal offshore wind leasing in the United States, as ordered by President Donald Trump, is a blow to project developers. But as one door closes in the US – even just temporarily – another has blown wide open in Ireland. Ireland’s forthcoming offshore wind auction in June, along with an ever-growing interest in green hydrogen, makes the country an increasingly attractive country in which to invest. Ian Mockett Director, energy and marine at COWI, discusses.

It’s no secret that Ireland has one of the most bountiful offshore wind resources globally. If the country achieves its ambitious plan to build out 37GW of offshore wind by 2050, electricity capacity will far exceed domestic demand. While exporting surplus electricity is an option, so is using that electricity to generate green hydrogen to support decarbonising the economy and enhancing energy security. Green hydrogen production also has significant export market potential in the long-term which could further reduce production costs and support economic growth.

An open opportunity

Renewable energy project development in the country is beginning to gather pace. In June, the country’s second offshore wind auction will take place for development of Tonn Nua, a prospective 900MW site off the south coast of Ireland. In a departure from the first auction, EirGrid will now be responsible for facilitating the electricity transmission infrastructure necessary to connect the offshore wind project to the grid, lowering developer risk. Given the ambition to have 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, auctions for the remaining three sites in the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan are likely to follow soon after.

Ireland’s first 2MW green hydrogen project is well underway. The Bord na Móna site will use renewable electricity from an onshore wind farm at Mount Lucas. Meanwhile, initial routes to market for excess hydrogen production are also being explored strengthening the case for green hydrogen production broadly.

ESB’s HYreland project, in collaboration with the German government, is investigating potential transportation pathways to export excess to Germany. Such a link would benefit from the European Hydrogen Backbone initiative, which aims to develop a 58,000 km hydrogen pipeline network by 2040 along with storage facilities. A similar initiative is also underway between Scotland and Ireland to assess the feasibility of a hydrogen pipeline between the two countries which could also facilitate onward transportation to Europe.

Progress over perfection

Alongside technical developments, there has also been a change in market approach. A decision by the Irish government to move from a developer-led to a government-led approach could help to marry the delivery of offshore wind, green hydrogen, transmission and demand. Concurrently, this increases the need for developers than can deliver an integrated approach. Technical prowess must be equally matched to a deep understanding of how the different system components will interface together.

Drawing on experiences and learnings from leading countries such as Denmark and Germany, who are progressing their energy transitions at pace, will be advantageous in this respect. While there has been a tight focus on long-term objectives and an overarching plan in these countries, the industry has also had the flexibility to progress energy projects in confidence that the dots will connect in time. This has taken a courage, to seize opportunities as they arise, rather than pass them up in the hope of a silver bullet.

Denmark’s green hydrogen strategy exemplifies this mindset. While COWI is executing a FEED study for a 500km long green hydrogen backbone that will run through Jutland to Germany, several green hydrogen production and Power-to-X (PtX) projects are already well underway. This includes MorGen Energy’s green hydrogen initiative in Esbjerg which will be Europe’s largest PtX project and European Energy’s Kassø PtX which is a first-of-its-kind project that will produce electro-methanol along with district heating for the town of Åbenrå. Further strengthening market confidence, the Danish government’s recent commitment to expanding offshore wind and green hydrogen investments signals a clear and ambitious path forward for the sector.

With projects moving at pace, these initial steps are creating the momentum needed for transformative change. This approach has been seen before in Denmark, as epitomised by its district heating journey. In response to the oil crisis in the 1970s, coal-fired district heating rose in popularity. As the need to reduce emissions grew, the switch began from coal to biomass. Now, having completed this shift, several Danish operators are now retrofitting carbon capture and storage to their bioenergy plants to create negative emissions. In the same way, little and often is needed to reach Ireland’s ambitious objectives rather than wait for the perfect solution that would require monumental effort to deploy in time.

This approach would also allow Ireland to build up the engineering resource and expertise that it will need to deliver green hydrogen, offshore wind and transmission grid upgrades. Collaborations with European companies already working on holistic projects on the mainland will be an invaluable asset for shortcutting the learning curve as well as creating access to the best technologies and thinking. Over time, building a domestic supply chain will also be invaluable for smoothing the path for project delivery.

Bravely through the door

It has been a long time in the making, but Ireland now stands at the threshold of a transformative energy future. The foundations are being built, from offshore wind auctions to green hydrogen projects and cross-border collaboration. What is needed now is the courage to see this journey through: to invest, to innovate and to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. The lesson from Europe is clear – progress comes to those that seize the moment, even in uncertainty. Green hydrogen’s role in Ireland’s future is still evolving but the door is wide open for those that are brave enough.

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