First Power

DELAYED +1yr (Apr 2026): Developer and secondary sources have long stated a 2030 operational date for Shelmalere, but by April 2026 the project has not yet secured MAC, has no planning application on file, and has no visible grid application or offer, despite being classed as a post‑Phase‑1 project. Given the multi‑year duration of MAC, planning, grid and construction processes for Irish offshore wind, it is no longer plausible to achieve first power by 2030. Taking the slippage of earlier milestones into account and comparing with realistic Phase 2 delivery horizons, I adjust first power to around 2036, a mid‑2030s timeframe more consistent with a 2034 cable‑installation start and typical 18–24‑month construction/commissioning. DELAYED +5yr (Apr 2026): NS Energy and project brochures showed Shelmalere becoming operational around 2030 with construction from 2028. With MAC, planning and grid milestones now pushed into the late 2020s and early 2030s, it is no longer realistic to expect first power by 2030. I shift first power to 2035 to reflect a more plausible Phase 2 delivery date. --- According to the developer’s indicative timeline, the Shelmalere Offshore Wind Farm transmission system is planned to begin exporting electricity to the Irish grid in 2030, marking first power for the export cables and associated onshore/offshore substations that connect the approximately 1 GW fixed-bottom wind farm off Wicklow and Wexford to the national network.