Ireland has “the best opportunities in the world to use offshore wind energy,” says an expert from Cork

IRELAND has “literally the best offshore wind capacity in the world”, according to a senior manager at a Cork-based company that is a leader in renewable energy.

Originally from Cobh, Cormac Gebruers went to sea as a teenager, joined the Merchant Navy at 17 and later served as Head of College at the National Maritime College of Ireland.

Last year he was appointed group external affairs manager at DP Energy, a Cork-based company specializing in renewable energy and sustainability.

Founded in Buttevant and headquartered at Horgan’s Quay, DP Energy has 30 years of experience in the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets, with the company having completed over 1 GW (gigawatts) of energy projects, the majority of which have already been built And it works. The company is led by mother and son co-founders Maureen and Simon De Pietro.

DP Energy employs 60 people, including 40 in Cork, and has 7 GW of onshore and offshore wind and solar projects in the pipeline in Ireland, the UK, Australia and Canada.

Mr. Gebruers said Echo that the potential of Ireland’s offshore energy is a game-changer and will benefit the country as a whole, and our coastal communities in particular.

“Initially, Ireland was well ahead of the curve in onshore wind, and there have been periods recently where around 40% of our total electricity generation came from green energy, which is an incredible number.”

We were late with the topic of offshore wind energy for two reasons. Perhaps the first was “sea blindness”, where Ireland, despite being an island, does not have a great history as a maritime nation.

“I think because of this, we have generally been slow to recognize the resource that is our maritime areas, and secondly, our planning systems are not good, especially in terms of building large infrastructure. We’re not alone in this, but I think we’re in a tougher position than some countries when it comes to building larger national infrastructure projects, and I personally think this is a serious national conversation that needs to happen.”

Still, Ireland’s renewable energy opportunities are unrivaled, he says.

“We literally have the best offshore wind capacity in the world, ourselves and Scotland, due to our location, on the eastern shores of the North Atlantic.

“The renewable energy we can extract from offshore wind in Ireland is simply enormous. The government has a target of generating around 37GW from Irish offshore wind by mid-century.

“This is a game changer because Europe is desperate for clean energy and we have far more than we will need. At the moment, Irish electricity consumption is peaking at around 6GW, and once we electrify everything it will be around 12GW, and the Irish government has recently published an industrial strategy for offshore wind, which basically outlines how Ireland will benefit economically from “We have these huge resources.”

Gebruers said offshore energy generation gives Ireland the opportunity to secure its economic future “for good and forever”, and as someone who grew up in Cobh, he believes offshore energy can save Ireland’s coastal communities.

“This will revitalize marine communities in a way nothing else could. This is a huge opportunity because it is very serious money, and this money will go to our coastal communities. This could be a win-win situation. It will require change, but change will come one way or another; climate change is on our side. Ask the poor, unfortunate people in Midleton.

“There are changes coming due to climate change, but this is a huge opportunity for Ireland,” he said.