Skip to main content
Menu
Teesside offshore wind farm

EDF Group acquires 50% of the Codling offshore wind project in Ireland

By EDF | Posted February 11, 2020

The EDF Group has bought a 50% interest in the Codling offshore wind farm project in Ireland from Hazel Shore. Its subsidiary EDF Renewables, dedicated to wind and solar energy across the globe, will now partner with Fred Olsen Renewables Ltd, which already owns 50%, to develop and build this project.  

The Codling project is located south of Dublin, 13 km off the coast of County Wicklow thus benefitting from the favourable conditions for offshore wind off the east coast of Ireland. The initial development work started in 2003. Codling is spread across two sites, one of which, Codling 1, is consented. As an indication, the capacity of the project should be around 1 GW of installed capacity.

This acquisition comes after the Irish Government set out the country’s clear commitment to reduce carbon emissions. In July 2019 it adopted a Climate Action Plan which specifies, among other things, to grow renewables in order to provide 70% of electricity generation by 2030. Offshore wind is expected to deliver at least 3.5 GW in support of reaching this target. Over the next couple of years, project development will continue with the intention that Codling will make a significant contribution to achieving the Irish Climate Action Plan targets.

The EDF Group, is a major offshore wind global player. Its subsidiary EDF Renewables has a  portfolio of offshore wind projects that exceeds 6 GW under operations, under construction and in development in the United Kingdom, in France, in Belgium, in Germany, in China and in the United States.

Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group Senior Executive Vice-President Renewable Energies and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Renewables said, “We are very pleased to join the Codling offshore wind project in partnership with Fred Olsen Renewables. We are committed to contributing to the Irish government’s renewables goals. This important project clearly strengthens our strong ambition to be a leading global player in the offshore wind industry. This is consistent with the CAP 2030 strategy that aims to double EDF’s renewable energy generation by 2030 and increase it to 50 GW net”.

Matthieu Hue, CEO EDF Renewables UK and Ireland said, “This is a very exciting move for us and we are really pleased to have arrived in Ireland. It is a country which has strong commitments to renewables and we are keen to support Ireland’s energy and climate ambitions. We already have an office in Dublin and are looking for further renewables projects to add to our growing portfolio.”

A spokesman for Hazel Shore commented, “EDF’s arrival in Ireland as a strategic investor and partner in the Codling project is a crucial step in delivering on a vision which began for Hazel Shore in 2003.  This is a strong endorsement of the path Ireland is on towards the 2030 renewable energy targets, set out in the Climate Action Plan, and a validation of Hazel Shore’s significant investment and hard work over almost two decades. 

The Hazel Shore shareholders remain committed to continuing their renewable and forestry businesses. Richard Barrett of Bartra Capital will focus on his non-Irish renewable projects; John Ronan and Conor Ronan will retain an equity-based interest in Codling alongside their other Irish holdings in the sector.”

Downloads

Teesside offshore wind farm
Teesside offshore wind farm

About EDF Group

A key player in energy transition, the EDF Group is an integrated electricity company, active in all areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading, energy services. A global leader in low-carbon energies, the Group has developed a diversified generation mix based on nuclear power, hydropower, new renewable energies and thermal energy. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to approximately 39.8 million customers(1), 29.7million of which are in France. It generated consolidated sales of €69 billion in 2018. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.

(1) The customers were counted at the end of 2018 per delivery site; a customer can have two delivery points: one for electricity and another for gas

About EDF Renewables

EDF Renewables is a leading international player in renewable energies, with gross installed capacity of 12.5 GW worldwide. Its development is mainly focused on wind and solar photovoltaic power. EDF Renewables operates mostly in Europe and North America but is continuing to grow by moving into promising emerging regions such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and the Middle East.

The company has strong positions in offshore wind power, but also in other areas of the renewable energies industry such distributed energy and energy storage. EDF Renewables develops, builds, operates and maintains renewable energies projects, both for itself and for third parties. Most of its international subsidiaries bear the EDF Renewables brand. EDF Renewables is the EDF Group subsidiary specialising in developing solar and wind power.

For more information, visit EDF Renouvelables.   

Follow us on LinkedIn and on Twitter (@EDF_RE in French and @EDF_Renewables in English).

About EDF Renewables in the UK and Ireland

EDF Renewables is part of one of the world’s largest electricity companies and our investment and innovation in the UK and Ireland is bringing down costs for consumers and bringing significant benefits for communities. With our operating portfolio of 36 wind farms and battery storage unit (almost 1GW) we are providing some of the much needed new affordable, low carbon electricity to the UK.

Work is well underway on the 450 MW Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind farm project which is in the Firth of Forth and we’ve extended our Edinburgh office to accommodate around 60 new team members. We have recently acquired Pivot Power, a start-up which specialises in battery storage and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging which will help us meet our ambitions in storage and electric mobility.

We have more than 2 GW of renewables projects in construction, planning and development and half of those are consented. We also have offices in Dublin, Rainton Bridge near Durham and in London.

EDF Renewables is a joint venture between EDF Renouvelables and EDF Energy.

Find our more at EDF Renewables UK and Ireland.

Related articles

Gwynt Glas Celtic Sea Wind Farm Model developed to inform stakeholders of plans in early stage consultation.
July 08, 2022

The Crown Estate identifies Gwynt Glas area of search within its plans to deliver 4 gigawatts of floating wind energy from the Celtic Sea

Gwynt Glas, a DP Energy and EDF Renewables UK joint venture, welcomes the announcement from The Crown Estate identifying five Areas of Search in the Celtic Sea from which 4 GW of floating wind project development sites will be competitively tendered in mid-2023.
EDF Renewables existing operational Burnhead wind farm near Falkirk
July 07, 2022

EDF Renewables UK welcomes Contract for Difference success

Two EDF Renewables UK projects bid into the Contract for Difference (CfD) auction round held by the UK Government’s BEIS department have been successful.