Members of the public in Counties Waterford, and Cork and Wexford are encouraged to have their say on the proposed Celtic Sea Array offshore wind park as part of the public consultation process that will run over a four-week period from 17 October until 11 November.
Public consultation meetings for the Celtic Sea Array Wind Park will take place on Wednesday, 19th October at St. Mary’s Community Hall in Fethard, Co. Wexford from 10am – 12:30pm and Carbally Community Centre in Dunmore East, Co. Waterford from 3:30pm – 6pm. Further meetings will then take place on Wednesday, 26th October at The Mall Arts Centre in Youghal, Co. Cork from 10am – 12:30pm and The Park Hotel in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford from 3:30pm – 6pm.
A live webinar will also take place on 2 November at 7.30pm and registration will be open via the project website.
The proposed Celtic Sea Array wind park is located in the Celtic Sea off the Waterford coast and Suir Estuary. Leading renewable energy owner, operator and developer SSE Renewables has applied for a Foreshore Licence to facilitate surveys of the seabed at the site. Once operational, Celtic Sea Array will be capable of generating up to 1.2GW of renewable energy, powering approximately over 1.25 million homes and businesses annually while offsetting 1.2 billion kgs of carbon emissions.
A Community Benefit Fund will also be attached to Celtic Sea Array Wind Park which will be expected to invest in excess of €6 million per year to local communities.
SSE Renewables, is proposing capital investment of up to €2.5 billion to develop Celtic Sea Array. There will be significant employment opportunities to support the day-to-day running of the windfarm. These jobs will be sustained over the operational life of the windfarm.
Representatives from SSE Renewables will be on-hand to discuss project proposals and answer questions from the public on the proposed wind farm. The in-person exhibitions and webinar will offer members of the community a complete overview of the project. A full digital brochure and feedback form as well as details of how to register for the webinar are available via www.sserenewables.com/celticseaarray
As part of the public consultation process, the SSE Renewables stakeholder engagement team will work with local communities and stakeholders to gather and record feedback and local information that will inform the project.
Martin Sweeney, Lead Project Manager for SSE Renewables said: “We look forward to engaging in-person with communities in County Waterford, Cork and Wexford in relation to Celtic Sea Array. It is really important that local stakeholders get an opportunity to engage directly and share their views on the project ahead of us submitting a Maritime Area Consent (MAC) application to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) next year.
“Our dedicated project team, website, in-person and virtual events will offer a variety of ways for stakeholders to learn more about the project and to arrange meetings with the project team, and to provide feedback to us.”
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