Simply Blue Group Opens Public Consultation for the Scoping Report phase of its Emerald Offshore Wind Project

<strong>Simply Blue Group Opens Public Consultation for the Scoping Report phase of its Emerald Offshore Wind Project</strong>
Date 16/01/2023
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<strong>Simply Blue Group Opens Public Consultation for the Scoping Report phase of its Emerald Offshore Wind Project</strong>

Virtual Public Consultation for the Emerald Project can be accessed at SimplyBlue – Virtual Exhibition (3dwtech.co.uk), and will remain open for feedback until 16 March 2023

Simply Blue Group, a leading blue economy developer headquartered in Cork, has launched a Virtual Public Consultation for the Emerald Offshore Wind Project, a proposed floating offshore wind project situated between 35km and 60km south of the Old Head of Kinsale in Co. Cork.

As well as a virtual exhibition, three in person public consultations will take place at the following locations in Cork.

Thursday 19th January 2023 – Temperance Hall, Kinsale from 2-8pm

Tuesday 31st January 2023 – Commodore Hotel (Harbour Suite) from 2-8pm

Thursday 2nd February 2023 – Aghada Community Hall, from 2-8pm

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping report describes the key elements of the Emerald Project, the baseline conditions, and sensitivities of the receiving environment likely to be affected by the Emerald Project, and the studies and assessments proposed. It provides an outline of the proposed approach and content of the Environment Impact Assessment Report (EIAR).

The scoping report provides an opportunity for stakeholder engagement, with feedback sought from the public to further inform the content and scope of the EIAR. The EIA scoping report is now available for virtual public consultation and can be accessed SimplyBlue – Virtual Exhibition (3dwtech.co.uk)

Work on the Emerald Offshore Wind project first commenced in 2020 and since then a comprehensive programme has been undertaken to appropriately identify and assess the site and boundary selection for each element of the proposed infrastructure including offshore site, cable routes, onshore landing locations and substation locations.

Speaking about the Emerald Offshore Wind Project, Val Cummins, Project Managing Director said “We are committed to engaging with all our stakeholders and communities at each stage of the project and we would encourage stakeholders to participate in the consultation of the scoping report. We believe this is a very exciting project which delivers on Simply Blue Group’s commitment to creating new economic opportunities for coastal communities and developing projects that co-exist with sustainable fisheries and marine conservation. We look forward to engaging and receiving feedback over the coming weeks.”

The Emerald Offshore Wind project is being developed in response to Irish Government policy and commitment to deploy up to 7GW of offshore wind projects in Ireland by 2030. This ambition will allow Ireland to meet targets set out in the Climate Action Planto ensure 80% of electricity generation from renewable sources. The closest turbines to shore are proposed to be circa 35km and will have a total capacity of up to 1.3 GigaWatts (GW), which could power over 1 million Irish homes. 

Feedback can be given via a response to the form in the virtual room or directly to the team via info@emeraldfloatingwind.com. The consultation will remain open until 16th March 2023.

For further information on the Emerald project, please visit www.emeraldfloatingwind.com

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