Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan consultation

23 April 2025

News article

An opportunity to provide input into Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) policy development in Northern Ireland.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) has launched a consultation on the Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan's (OREAP) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report and Report to Inform Appropriate Assessment (RIAA).

OREAP was developed to enable the ambition for offshore renewable energy to be taken forward collaboratively with key delivery partners. ORE development in our marine area offers an opportunity for both decarbonisation and economic benefit for communities and businesses.

A key action within the OREAP was to undertake an update to the 2012 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) of Offshore Renewable Energy in our Marine Area. RPS Ireland were commissioned to update these environmental assessments which DfE are now consulting on.

Stakeholders who will be impacted by ORE development and the wider energy sector are encouraged to consider the contents of this consultation and supplementary materials and share their comments. This will provide DfE with valuable insight, which will be analysed and considered as part of the ongoing development of the OREAP.

The latest version of the OREAP has also been published with the government response to the draft OREAP public consultation.

Stakeholder information events

DfE is hosting four stakeholder events, three in person and one virtual. The aim of the events is to discuss the information within the consultation documents and give stakeholders the opportunity to provide invaluable feedback, which will be considered as part of the ongoing development of the OREAP.