<p>Speaking at an industry event this morning in Belfast’s Titanic Hotel, project director for the proposed 400MW North Channel Wind floating wind project Ms Niamh Kenny said if it were to go ahead, the development could be a game changer for Northern Ireland. She said “We are investigating two sites in the North Channel halfway between Northern Ireland and Scotland for a series of new generation floating wind turbines. The two sites would generate a combined 400MW, representing 13% of Northern Ireland’s energy needs.”</p><p>The two potential windfarms could be sited in areas between 12km and 27km from the coasts of counties Antrim and Down. The power from these would be cabled to shore connecting to the grid at a location currently under consideration.</p><p>SBM Offshore’s floating technologies are particularly well suited to the Irish Sea for their significantly reduced environmental impact during installation and operation when compared to conventional turbines whose foundations are on the seabed.</p>
<p>Speaking at an industry event this morning in Belfast’s Titanic Hotel, project director for the proposed 400MW North Channel Wind floating wind project Ms Niamh Kenny said if it were to go ahead, the development could be a game changer for Northern Ireland. She said “We are investigating two sites in the North Channel halfway between Northern Ireland and Scotland for a series of new generation floating wind turbines. The two sites would generate a combined 400MW, representing 13% of Northern Ireland’s energy needs.”</p><p>The two potential windfarms could be sited in areas between 12km and 27km from the coasts of counties Antrim and Down. The power from these would be cabled to shore connecting to the grid at a location currently under consideration.</p><p>SBM Offshore’s floating technologies are particularly well suited to the Irish Sea for their significantly reduced environmental impact during installation and operation when compared to conventional turbines whose foundations are on the seabed.</p>
