Oriel Wind Farm

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Oriel Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, off the coast of County Louth, Ireland. The plan is to build about 55 turbines (each 6 MW) to generate around 375 MW of electricity, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes. The site would cover about 28 square kilometers and sit roughly 7.8 kilometers from the shore, near Clogherhead, around 22–24 kilometers southeast of Dundalk and northeast of Drogheda. The project is led by Oriel Windfarm Limited and has been studied for years, including environmental surveys and geotechnical assessments.

Environmental and planning history
- Since 2003, surveys of the physical, ecological, and human environments have been carried out at the site, including bird studies.
- In 2007, developers suggested construction could begin as early as autumn 2009 if permission was granted.
- By 2014, the project was on hold while discussions continued about exporting the electricity to the UK.
- In 2015, a smaller demonstration project (initially proposed as the North Irish Sea Array) was discussed with another company, with potential for a larger development.
- A planning application for Oriel Wind Farm was submitted in mid-2024 to An Bord Pleanála. By August 2025 planners had requested extensive extra information on potential impacts to marine life, birds, rescue and air traffic, tourism, and coastal erosion. Developers were given a deadline to respond, expected in January 2026.

What the project would deliver
- If built as planned, the wind farm would produce about 375 MW of electricity and feed it into Ireland’s national grid. Some output could be exported to the UK and European markets through interconnectors.

In short, Oriel Wind Farm aims to become a large offshore wind project in Ireland, with a long history of studies and planning and an ongoing process to address environmental and logistical questions before a final decision is made.