SEAI supports the sustainable development of Ireland's ocean energy potential through a number of activities.

National funding and policy

National Energy RD&D Funding Programme

The SEAI National Energy Research Development and Demonstration (RD&D) Funding Programme invests in innovative energy RD&D projects which contribute to Ireland's transition to a clean and secure energy future.

Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP) II

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in Ireland is updating the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP I). OREDPII is a national, sectoral document intended to provide strategic guidance for the enduring sustainable deployment of offshore renewable energy. OREDP II updates OREDP I which was published in 2014 and which set out key principles, actions and enablers needed to harness offshore renewable energy. OREDP II takes account of significant developments in policy, legislation and regulation and the availability of additional marine data since the publication of OREDP I (and its interim review in 2018).

OREDP II is being brought forward as part of the development and implementation of a new integrated forward planning framework of/for Marine Planning for/in Ireland. It is intended to provide the evidence base to support the identification of areas most suitable for the sustainable development of offshore renewable energy in Ireland’s maritime area, which will happen at later stages in the planning framework.

As part of the preparation of the OREDP II, and in accordance with the requirements of S.I. No. 435 of 2004, an environmental report is required identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the OREDPII, and reasonable alternatives taking account of the objectives and the geographical scope of the OREDPII.

Consultation on the OREDPII and environmental reports is now open until 21st April 2023. A digital version of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) report is available

SEAI Virtual Tour | Explore in 360° (oredpii-sea-digitalreport.com) and there are consultation questions in part 4 of the digital report. Feedback can also be provided to ocean.energy@seai.ie

All documentation related to the OREDPII are available at the following location: gov.ie/OffshoreEnergyPlan

Ocean Energy Ireland Portal

For other links to research and enterprise opportunities in Ireland, and links to open access data collected for the offshore renewable sector, please visit the ocean energy portal here - www.oceanenergyireland.com

International collaboration

OCEANERA-NET COFUND

The Ocean Energy ERA-NET Cofund is an initiative of eight national and regional government agencies from six European countries. Our key objectives are to:

  • Maintain and grow Europe’s world leading position in ocean energy
  • Help bring innovative low carbon energy solutions closer to commercial deployment
  • Drive down the levelised cost of energy (LCoE)
  • Create growth and jobs
  • Reduce the environmental impact of the energy system

Ocean Power Innovation Network

The Open Power Innovation Network (OPIN) is a cross-sectoral collaborative network that aims to accelerate the growth of the ocean energy sector and its supply chains across the partner regions of Ireland, the UK, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

The basic premise of OPIN is to encourage both cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration for Offshore Renewable Energy SMEs. OPIN is committed to collaboration, learning, innovation and personal interaction in ocean energy technology development.

Learn more about Ocean Power Innovation Network

OceanSET

The OceanSET project is a three-year H2020 funded project, which focuses on delivering the actions of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan or ‘SET Plan’ for Ocean Energy. The European Commission established SET Plan in order to improve new technologies and bring down costs through coordinated national research efforts; promote cooperation among EU countries, companies and research institutions, and in so doing also deliver on the key objectives of the energy union. SEAI are the lead partner on the OceanSET project.

OceanSET focuses on assessing the progress of the Ocean Energy sector and monitors national and EU funded projects. Relevant data is collected annually over three years and used to inform Member States and the EC on the progress of the sector. More information on OceanSET, including the reports from the first two years of the project can be found at www.oceanset.eu

Accelerating market uptake of Floating Offshore Wind Technology

AFLOWT (Accelerating market uptake of Floating Offshore Wind Technology) is a five-year project that aims to demonstrate the survivability and cost-competitiveness of a floating offshore wind technology. Funding for the project is sourced from Interreg North West Europe to accelerate the uptake of floating offshore wind.

The project launched in 2019 is led by EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre) working with technology partner SAIPEM and test site owner SEAI, along with MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands), UCC (University College Cork), ESB (Electricity Supply Board), Fraunhofer IWES (Institute for Wind Energy Systems) and CaLiCyA (Cable Life Cycle Assurance).

Learn more about Accelerating market uptake of Floating Offshore Wind Technology