The firm behind Ireland’s only constructed off-shore wind farm is to lodge plans in the coming days with An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) to dismantle and decommission the entire project.
In the planning application direct to ACP, Arklow Energy Ltd is seeking to dismantle and remove seven wind turbine generators and all ancillary works of Arklow Bank Wind Farm Phase 1 in the Irish Sea.
The applicants are also seeking the planning permission up to June 2033 to align with the duration of a foreshore sub-lease.
The decommissioning of the wind-farm off the Co Wicklow coast also includes the unburial, cutting and removing all inter-array cables which are 7.4km in length and the unburial, cutting and removing of offshore export cables measuring 15.6km in length.
The wind farm commenced generating electricity in 2005 and it remains Ireland’s only off-shore wind farm to provide electricity to the grid.
Currently, ACP is evaluating a number of large scale off-shore wind-farm projects.
The Arklow Bank wind farm ceased operating in 2024 due to safety concerns and the most recent accounts for Arklow Energy Ltd for 2024 show that the energy provider ceased energy production “due to the final three turbines incurring major faults in Q2 2024”.
The directors state that in May 2024, the last three turbines “were deactivated for safety reasons after reaching the end of their cycle”.
The directors state that the company impaired the turbines and right of use assets by €2.6m in its 2024 accounts.
They state that in September 2024, the company settled its insurance claim in respect of the fire which damaged Turbine 5 in 2021 and the amount settled and paid was €5.39m.
In June 2024, the firm paid out a dividend of €4.5m to its then immediate parent, GE Arklow Energy CV.
In addition, the directors state that the firm undertook a Blade Maintenance Campaign in 2025 to fulfil its foreshore lease obligations and the company made a provision of €13.7m for the works in its 2024 accounts.
In 2024, revenues at the wind-farm company plummeted by 76% from €3.66m to €889,003 due to the switching off of the remaining three turbines.
The €13.7m provision along with the €2.6m impairment costs offset by the insurance claim payout of €5.39m resulted in the company recording a loss of €14.2m for 2024.
The directors state that now the main activity of the business is the decommissioning of the wind-farm which is dependent upon approval from the Irish energy regulator “and we cannot currently confirm a definitive timescale for which this decommissioning will be complete”.
In the directors’ report signed off on December 22nd 2025, the directors state that “the current forecast is to commence the decommissioning in Summer 2027”.
The firm’s owner is the US-headquartered GE Vernova after GE spun off its renewable, digital and power businesses to GE Vernova in April 2024.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
