Podcast on New Developments in Offshore Wind in the Celtic Sea

In the UK jurisdiction, construction of the first floating offshore wind farm has begun. However, the processes has faced several governance challenges that may slow implementation.

In parallel, Ireland plans to develop its own pipeline of offshore wind projects to achieve national targets of 37 GW capacity of offshore renewable energy by 2050. This will be quite a leap for a country that, despite being an island, has just one offshore wind farm at present.

Three distinguished experts help unpack the main opportunities and challenges shaping offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

• Christina Kelly is a Research Fellow in the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast. Christina’s area of interest and expertise is in coastal transitions, integrated coastal and marine management, marine governance, and environmental sustainability.

• Lindsey West is a Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast. Lindsey has a diverse work history, having worked in marine and coastal research, conservation, and management both nationally and internationally. Lindsey’s research interests focus on human-ocean relationships, social and cultural values of the ocean, and marine governance.

• Neil Farrington is the strategic offshore development manager at Celtic Sea Power in the UK. Neil has worked in the renewable energy sector both onshore and offshore for more than 25 years and is currently focused on embedding sustainability into the new evolving floating offshore wind sector across the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay.