Ireland’s Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Darragh O’Brien, announced the launch of the National Offshore Renewable Energy Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) in May 2025. This positive step further engages the country’s offshore strategic initiative to advance the renewable energy sector. Along with this, it supports the ambitious goal of developing 20 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind capacity by 2040.
Assuming the DMAP is completed as promised by late 2027, it would take several years for its impacts to rev up. This plan represents an important step in the direction of Ireland’s commitment to decarbonisation and accelerating our move towards renewable sources of energy. O’Brien emphasized the need to involve sustainability in all of Ireland’s marine spaces. He concluded that strategically planned DMAPs will help propel this initiative in the exciting direction.
“The use of strategically planned DMAPs will ensure that developments in Ireland’s maritime area take place in a managed and sustainable way,” O’Brien stated. Additionally, the work on a National DMAP advances from the success of the South Coast ORE DMAP which passed both Houses of the Oireachtas last October [2024]. This is crucial to accelerating our decarbonisation ambitions and achieving a net zero target of 20GW of installed offshore renewables by 2040.
In April 2025, EirGrid, Ireland’s transmission system operator, launched a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) procurement program. As one key pillar of their overall power plant transition plan, this new initiative would create a coordinated offshore electricity grid. This infrastructure is key to advancing the development of renewable energy projects at an incredible pace. It gets Ireland one step closer to the country’s aim of producing 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Minister of State with special responsibility for the marine, Timmy Dooley, highlighted the economic potential associated with the development of offshore wind projects. “The development of offshore wind projects, including floating offshore wind and other innovative technologies throughout our coastal areas, offers enormous economic opportunities for coastal communities, in terms of jobs growth and local community development,” Dooley remarked.
The DMAP aligns with Ireland’s broader energy strategy and underscores the government’s commitment to a sustainable energy future. With the anticipated completion timeline and significant investment in infrastructure, Ireland is positioning itself as a leader in offshore renewable energy.