Jobs in wind power industry lost as officials ‘scoffed’ at technology

Valuable jobs in the wind industry were lost because senior officials scoffed at the technology, a former high-ranking civil servant has said.

Peter Coyle said Ireland had the chance to be a leader in offshore wind 20 years ago when the world’s second and at the time largest  farm was built off Arklow.

“We didn’t take up that opportunity.

"I am one of those who did not take up the opportunity. We scoffed a lot at offshore wind,” he said.

Denmark became the pioneer instead and now had 23,000 people employed in the industry.

Mr Coyle said Ireland still had a chance to become a world leader with the next generation of offshore wind farms in the 2030s which would use  floating turbine technology instead of the current fixed bottom structures.

But he said a “silo” attitude in the Tánaiste’s department would have to change and Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) would have to be told to urgently put together a plan of action.

Mr Coyle worked for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for 30 years and his last role was as head of Enterprise Ireland. He is now chairman of the Marine Renewables Industry Association.

He told the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action the department lacked ambition for the wind industry.

“They would need to get involved, need to get engaged, need to get the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to develop policy to exploit the opportunity,” he said.

“I don’t think the organisations have been given a vision or a demanding goal.”

Mr Coyle said the Danes were building an artificial island in the North Sea to be a hub for offshore wind energy, with a tailor-made deep port and homes for workers.

“That’s the kind of ambition we need,” he said.

“We are a victim of the siloed aspect to Irish government, the fact that departments are tribes in their own right, interested in their own territories and not interested in other territories.”

A string of large offshore projects is planned for around the east and south-east coasts by 2030, some of which are expected to be submitted for planning permission before the end of this year, but they will all be fixed bottom turbines.

The next phase is to include floating turbines for the deep waters off the west coast where untapped wind energy could make Ireland a major electricity exporter.

Officials from the Department of Enterprise insisted they were working to develop job opportunities in the wind sector.

Marie Bourke, principal officer in the department’s climate action policy unit, said more than 65 small and medium companies were part of a “supply chain cluster” called the Gael Offshore Network, providing services such as seabed surveys and vessel support service.

“The department and its agencies are actively engaged in building the capacity in the indigenous sector for these supply chain opportunities,” Ms Bourke said.

Reporting: The Irish Independent