This week, the RenewableNI team brought together a strong mix of MLAs, civil servants, industry leaders, regulators, policymakers and key stakeholders at Stormont to focus on one of Northern Ireland’s greatest untapped opportunities: offshore wind.

The roundtable event, titled Offshore Wind Farm Development: Securing the Benefits for NI, was a collaboration between RenewableNI and Ocean Winds.

We extend our thanks to the MLAs who joined and contributed: Sinéad McLaughlin MLA, Diana Armstrong MLA, Pádraig Delargy MLA, Peter McReynolds MLA, David Honeyford MLA and Peter Martin MLA. Their engagement helped ground an honest discussion about how Northern Ireland moves from ambition to delivery.

Northern Ireland faces a decisive moment. Our ambition to deliver at least 1GW of offshore wind from 2030 is realistic and essential, yet progress has lagged considerably against targets set out in the Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP), as highlighted by the NI Audit Office. The economic opportunity is significant: up to £2.4bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) and more than 1,500 highly skilled jobs across the lifecycle of a 1GW project. In the Operations & Maintenance phase alone, around £50m in annual expenditure could sustain 300+ long-term jobs over 25 years, anchored in coastal communities including Larne, Foyle, Kilkeel, Ardglass, Coleraine, Warrenpoint and Belfast.

Our discussion was framed by three practical questions: the top barriers to delivery, the greatest risks, and the full spectrum of economic, social and strategic benefits for Northern Ireland.

RenewableNI has set out a clear set of priority actions that can unlock delivery at pace:

1. Increase momentum in accelerating offshore wind development in NI by focusing on principles and themes of the Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP), particularly its objective of bringing forward necessary legislative changes within the Offshore Renewable Energy Installation (OREI) Bill to enable OREI decommissioning and the deployment of offshore renewable energy (ORE) in Northern Ireland. Provide clarity on the implementation of those provisions in the GB Energy Act that relate to Northern Ireland, including the degree of agency the Executive will enjoy in directing Great British Energy investment and how Great British Energy funding will achieve devolved energy objectives.
2. Ensure Northern Ireland is included in the UK Government’s ambition to make the UK a clean energy superpower, and that the region benefits from the significant planned investment in renewable energy and decarbonisation e.g., securing Northern Ireland’s voice in the planning for new GB Energy Company Investments (worth £8.3bn over five years), and the further £7.3bn committed to decarbonise heavy industry through the National Wealth Fund.
3. Enable The Crown Estate to commence the leasing round in Q1 2027, with its completion within 12 months.
4. Greater clarity around the ambition to generate 1GW offshore wind from 2030, including the setting of interim targets for 2032/2033, and a review of whether a specific, more ambitious overall target is appropriate once Northern Ireland’s technical capacity has been identified.
5. Include offshore wind in the Renewable Electricity Price Guarantee (REPG) scheme. If subsidiary legislation is needed for new technologies, offshore wind should be treated as a matter of priority to provide certainty for investors and developers.
6. Develop and publish Consenting Guidelines on consenting regimes (the regulatory framework which enables offshore wind projects to be developed) and marine boundaries for offshore wind projects in Northern Ireland.
7. Establish statutory time limits for the approval process for offshore renewable projects, including all regulatory, consenting and licensing steps, to ensure accountability.
8. Resource plan for key departments and statutory agencies, including Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Department for Infrastructure and Utility Regulator NI, to enable prompt processing of applications to meet statutory timelines, including the option for developers to pay for additional resources to be put on projects.
9. Completion of the second North South Interconnector to minimise grid constraints.
10. Secure NI Executive agreement on regulations to establish the Just Transition Commission, which would include representatives from a range of sectors mandated by the Climate Change Act (NI) 2022 and once established would have an advisory and oversight role in ensuring all departments take account of the Just Transition Principle in the Act.

Timing is critical. At the Economy Committee recently, the Minister indicated the OREI Bill is planned for the 2026/27 Assembly session, with key regulations progressing in the next mandate, making passage of the Bill in this mandate essential to maintain momentum and investor confidence.

Northern Ireland has the coastline, the talent, and, crucially, the wind. What we need now is the collective will, the hunger, to move from aspiration to delivery, turning policy clarity into projects, projects into jobs, and jobs into sustainable prosperity for our coastal communities. RenewableNI will continue to work constructively with MLAs, departments, partners and our members to secure the benefits of offshore wind for everyone in Northern Ireland.