A major windfarm project off Connemara has been withdrawn, but two emerging technologies could provide future alternative solutions for harnessing the Atlantic's renewable energy off Ireland's west coast. Article by Dr. Ross O'Connell.

Led by Dr. Fiona Devoy McAuliffe, the IDEA-IRL podcast series looks at the offshore wind farm industry featuring experts on key aspects of the design and operation of a floating offshore wind farm. Through the series, you will get an overview of the industry, the stakeholders involved in developing a floating wind farm, and the opportunities and challenges that floating wind presents.  

At the 2025 EERA DeepWind Conference in Norway last week, Dr. Ross O'Connell had the opportunity to present on the Wet Storage study currently nearing completion at MaREI. Feedback on this presentation was very positive and a high level of interest was expressed in the study topic, including future applications to other regions around Europe. Wet storage is expected to be particularly relevant for large-scale FLOW projects in areas where the wave climate (and hence weather window availability) are of a greater concern, such as Atlantic coasts. The conference was also a great opportunity to meet and hear presentations from other leading researchers in this field, getting a live update in R&I for FLOW around the globe.

Dr. Frances Judge presented to hundreds of attendees at the 2024 Wind Energy Ireland Trade Show on current research projects underway in the Offshore Renewable Energy Research Group at MaREI-UCC, including; Wet-Storage, AtlanticFloat ad IDEA-IRL. 

Dr. Jimmy Murphy has been banging on people’s doors for almost 30 years about coastal erosion and the impact it has on people and places. More attention, effort and funding is now been given to protecting our coastline, he says as part of the Evening Echo's Cork Coast series.

Cork can become a leader in wave energy, says Dr. Ross O'Connell, who tells us about Ireland’s potential to develop Offshore Renewable Energy as part of the Evening Echo's Cork Coast series.

Offshore wind will be key to decarbonising our economy, says Dr. Fiona Devoy McAuliffe, who looks at the role Cork will play in the development of this industry as part of the Evening Echo's Cork Coast series. 

A new UCC led project MARINERG-i will help to realise the vast potential of offshore renewable energy. MARINERG-i will be an Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Distributed Research Infrastructure (DRI). With a network of world-class testing facilities spread across Europe, MARINERG-i is setting out to become the leading DRI in the ORE sector globally. 

Irish research is at the forefront of international efforts to accelerate the development of large-scale floating wind energy (FLOW) farms (windfarms), thanks to a new SEAI-funded project: IDEA-IRL: Integrated Design of FLOW Arrays – Ireland. IDEA-IRL will produce a long-term FLOW development roadmap for Ireland, identifying recommendations to maximise the social, economic and environmental benefits.

A new SEAI-funded project has put Irish research at the forefront of international efforts to accelerate the development of large-scale floating wind energy (FLOW) farms. TIDEA-IRL will produce a long-term FLOW development roadmap for Ireland, identifying recommendations to maximise its social, economic and environmental benefits.