Proposal
Offshore wind will play a key role in Ireland’s effort to tackle climate change, but the wind farms don’t have to be close to shore.
In Scotland, 6.4GW of fixed-bottom wind is proposed in areas with an average sea depth greater than 60m (Source, p.24).
We believe all wind farms off Waterford should be placed outside 22km (white line), in water >50m deep.
Why 22km? Because, at this distance, the visual impact will be ‘medium’ rather than ‘major’ (source), and inshore biodiversity and fishing should be safeguarded.

The government will select an area(s) on this map in 2023 to develop an offshore wind farm(s). Data source: infomar.ie.
Why?
Biodiversity
“We talk about climate change a lot, but biodiversity loss is as important an issue.” – David Attenborough





Tourism: Visual Impact

8km from shore: Lincs wind farm, UK, turbines 170m tall

23km from shore: Norther wind farm, Belgium, turbines 180m tall

For physical height illustrative purposes only.
Note: Wind turbines placed off the Waterford coast will be 175-300m tall.
2019 Wales Seascape and visual sensitivity study (source):
Turbine Height | Low impact | Medium Impact |
---|---|---|
107-145m | 22.6km | 14km |
146-175m | 24.4km | 18.8km |
176-225m | 28.5km | 22km |
226-300m | 41.6km | 27.9km |
301-350m | 44km | 32.8km |
2020 Whites & Northumbria University seascape and visual buffer study (source):
Turbine Height | Low impact | Medium Impact |
---|---|---|
107-145m | 19.2km | 14km |
146-175m | 21.7km | 15.8km |
176-225m | 26.2km | 20.2km |
226-300m | 38.6km | 27.5km |
301-350m | 35-44km | 24-35km |





Fishing


