Oriel Wind Farm Export is the dedicated 220 kV HVAC grid connection for the proposed 375 MW Oriel offshore wind farm located in the Irish Sea off the north Louth coast (~22 km east of Dundalk). The transmission system comprises a single subsea export circuit (220 kV HVAC) from the offshore wind f...
On 18 March 2026, An Coimisiun Pleanala (the renamed An Bord Pleanala) published the statutory Notice of Significant Additional Information for the Oriel Wind Farm Project case ABP-319799-24 and opened a second public consultation period to invite submissions and observations on the January 2026 SAI package (Response to Submissions Report and NIS Addendum). The consultation period opened on the notice publication date and the closing deadline for submissions and observations is 13 May 2026. A fee of EUR 50 applies for new submissions; the fee is waived for persons or bodies who lodged a submission during the original 2024-2025 consultation. This second consultation round adds several months to the overall Irish offshore wind consent timeline, with the Irish Independent (18 March 2026) reporting that a decision on the project is now expected in September 2026. Recorded during manual audit review 2026-04-15.
On 15 January 2026, Oriel Windfarm Ltd submitted Significant Additional Information (SAI) to An Bord Pleanala in response to the Request for Further Information issued by the planning authority on the Oriel Wind Farm Project strategic infrastructure application ABP-319799-24. The SAI package comprises two principal documents: (1) a Response to Submissions Report addressing the public and prescribed-body submissions received during the original 2024-2025 consultation window, and (2) a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) Addendum providing further environmental information on potential effects on Natura 2000 sites, required by the authority's further information requests issued in August 2024 and April 2025. The original Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) was submitted to An Bord Pleanala on 22 March 2024 and the planning application was lodged on 24 May 2024; the statutory decision due date of 2 December 2024 was passed without decision, reflecting the complexity of the first-wave Irish offshore wind consent process. The SAI is classified here as an eia_submitted resubmission because the NIS Addendum is a formal EIA-related environmental document submitted for the authority's review, and the eia_submitted event type description explicitly covers 'resubmissions following revisions'. This submission is a significant milestone showing that although the consenting process is slow, it is actively progressing and the developers continue to invest in responding to regulatory requirements. Recorded during manual audit review 2026-04-15.
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Oriel Offshore Windfarm export cable, Oriel 220 kV export cable, CP0749 Oriel Offshore Windfarm connection
On 24 May 2024, Oriel Windfarm Ltd (JERA Nex and ESB joint development) lodged the formal strategic infrastructure planning application with An Bord Pleanala for the Oriel Wind Farm Project, case reference ABP-319799-24. The application covers the offshore wind farm, offshore substation, offshore and landfall export cables, approximately 20.1 km of 220 kV onshore export cable from the landfall to the new Stickillin substation, and associated onshore transmission works required to connect the project to the Irish transmission grid. Lodging followed the grant of the Maritime Area Consent (MAC) by Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan TD in December 2022, which was a precondition for applying for planning permission in the designated maritime area. This event represents the formal start of the project-wide planning consent process under Irish strategic infrastructure legislation. The application was subsequently renumbered/renamed when An Bord Pleanala was reconstituted as An Coimisiun Pleanala in 2026, but the case reference ABP-319799-24 has remained unchanged throughout. Recorded during manual audit review 2026-04-15 from An Bord Pleanala case page (pleanala.ie/en-ie/case/319799).
An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) for the Oriel Offshore Windfarm 220 kV Onshore Cable, including Appendix 5‑12 on construction methodology, was prepared by ESB Engineering and Major Projects and RPS and submitted as part of the Oriel Wind Farm Project planning application. The report, dated February/March 2024 and published on An Bord Pleanála’s planning portal on 22 March 2024, describes the methods and elements of construction for the approximately 20.1 km onshore 220 kV export cable route between the landfall and the new substation at Stickillin to inform the planning authority’s assessment of the onshore transmission works.
Oriel Windfarm held the latest in a series of public consultation events in January and February 2023 to inform local stakeholders about the project’s status and to gather their views on the proposed offshore wind farm development ahead of submitting a planning application.
In December 2022, the Oriel Offshore Wind Farm, which includes an offshore and an onshore substation and all associated offshore and onshore cables, was granted a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) by Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan T.D. This new type of state consent authorises occupation of a designated part of the maritime area and must be in place before the project can apply for planning permission for development in that area.
Oriel Windfarm Ltd received and accepted a grid connection offer for the Oriel Offshore Wind Farm connection under the Commission for Energy Regulation’s (CER) Gate 3 process, with firm access rights granted in 2012. By choosing the contestable route for this grid connection, the developer took responsibility for consenting and constructing the associated transmission connection assets, including the export cable and related onshore works.
By 2007, Oriel Windfarm Ltd had completed geotechnical site investigation work for the Oriel Wind Farm project, alongside an engineering assessment and preparation of Environmental Impact and Natura Impact Statements, providing key ground condition data to support the offshore wind farm and associated grid connection development.
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