Arklow Bank Phase 2 Export is the dedicated offshore export transmission system for the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 (ABWP2) development. The connection is being developed to evacuate up to c.800 MW of offshore wind generation via high-voltage alternating-current (HVAC) transmission. The system ...
In December 2022, a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) was granted to SSE Renewables for Arklow Bank Wind Park 2, allowing the project to progress its offshore consent application to An Bord Pleanála. The MAC covers the offshore project area and is a key marine authorisation for developing the offshore infrastructure, including turbines, up to two offshore substations, and the offshore export cable routes that will bring power ashore.
By mid-February 2021, engineering and definition of the offshore export cable routes for Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 had progressed to the stage of producing "Proposed Offshore Export Cable Route 1" and "Route 2" drawings. The EIAR onshore grid infrastructure documentation includes a dated engineering drawing showing two alternative offshore export cable corridors from the Arklow Bank offshore substation locations to the landfall near Johnstown North, evidencing completion of a detailed routing design phase for the subsea export cables.
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Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 export, Arklow Bank 2 export cable, ABWP2 export, Arklow Bank Phase 2 export cable, Arklow Bank 2 grid connection
Sure Partners Limited submitted an application to the Irish housing ministry to extend the Long Stop Dates in the existing Foreshore Lease for Arklow Bank Wind Park, in order to allow construction and development of Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 under that lease. The extension application covers the offshore infrastructure permitted by the lease, including up to two offshore substations and two new 220 kV offshore export cables that will transmit power from Phase 2 towards shore.
On 17 November 2020, SSE Renewables and Echelon Data Centres agreed to jointly develop a 220 kV substation at the Avoca River Business Park in Arklow, Ireland. The shared infrastructure is intended to facilitate grid connection for the Arklow Bank offshore wind project with an export capacity of 520 MW, as well as Echelon’s 100 MW DUB20 Arklow data centre, forming a co-development arrangement for the key onshore grid node of the Arklow Bank Phase 2 export connection.
In October 2020, SSE Renewables and Sure Partners Limited opened a public consultation on Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2, inviting feedback from communities in South Wicklow and North Wexford on both the offshore infrastructure and the onshore grid infrastructure. The consultation, running through late October and early November 2020, covered plans for the offshore export cables, landfall at Johnstown North, and the onshore 220 kV cable route and substation needed to connect the project to the national transmission network.
Sure Partners Limited appointed Arup to support planning and permitting applications for the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 Onshore Grid Infrastructure, which forms the onshore section of the 220 kV export connection from the offshore wind farm to the National Electricity Transmission Network. The appointment covers preparation of the necessary planning documentation, including route design and environmental assessment for the underground export circuits, substation at Shelton Abbey, and associated overhead line connection.
By September 2020, detailed engineering of emerging preferred onshore export cable route options for Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 had been carried out, defining underground 220 kV circuits from the landfall at Johnstown North to the proposed Shelton Abbey substation. The scoping report describes the alignment of cable route option 1A in detail, including specific road crossings, agricultural land sections, and its termination at the new substation, indicating completion of a refined engineering and routing study for the onshore export connection.
In 2002, the Irish Minister for Marine and Natural Resources granted a Foreshore Lease for the Arklow Bank Wind Park offshore infrastructure, authorising the development of wind turbines, offshore substations and all associated offshore export cables within the 27 km by 2.5 km lease area on Arklow Bank in the Irish Sea. This lease underpins the Phase 2 development, including the offshore export cable system and offshore substations that will transmit power from Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 to shore.
By spring 2024, Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 had secured planning consent for its onshore grid infrastructure, including the underground cable route from the landfall at Johnstown North to a new 220 kV substation at Avoca River Park/Shelton Abbey. This consent authorises construction of the onshore export cable circuits and substation that will connect the offshore wind farm’s export system to Ireland’s National Electricity Transmission Network.
In the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 Onshore Grid Infrastructure EIA Scoping Report, Sure Partners Limited and Arup state that ground investigations will be undertaken at the Johnstown North landfall to confirm the technical details for the trenchless Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) connection of the offshore export circuits to shore, indicating that geotechnical investigations are planned for the export cable landfall works.
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