Ireland launches consultation on offshore wind auction revamp

The consultation (15 pages / 284KB PDF), which opened for submissions on 28 August, seeks stakeholder views on Ireland’s proposed approach for implementing changes required by the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) in line with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1176.

The NZIA, which was adopted in June 2024 alongside the implementing regulation, introduces new, mandatory pre-qualification standards and scoring – broadly, “non-price” criteria – that reflect the EU’s wider industrial and climate goals.

Historically, ORESS auctions focused solely on price competitiveness. However, effective from 30 December 2025, article 26 of the NZIA requires all EU member states to ensure their auctions account for a variety of non-price criteria at both the pre-qualification and award stages. Member states retain discretion over criteria selection, scoring methodology and compliance checks for offshore wind auctions.

The consultation follows a similar DCEE consultation undertaken last year that examined the feasibility of integrating non-price criteria into future onshore renewables auctions in line with article 26. In July the DCEE published the terms and conditions for the sixth round of RESS ahead of plans to launch the auction later this autumn.

Reflecting that NZIA will be embedded into the state-supported Irish renewables auctions, and in keeping with the incoming changes to the RESS auction, the DCEE proposes that offshore wind projects must meet three mandatory pre-qualification criteria related to responsible business conduct, cybersecurity and ability to deliver.

The DCEE is also seeking feedback on the potential inclusion of environmental sustainability metrics for future ORESS auctions that would require businesses to provide evidence of the biodiversity impact of offshore projects at the pre-qualification stage.

The consultation paper also indicates that the energy minister, Darragh O'Brien, is exploring options to require a component of “local content” and more generally bring Ireland’s offshore wind sector into the circular economy. Practically, this may include requiring bidders to provide evidence at the pre-qualification stage of the ease with which specific components of their elected offshore wind technologies can be repaired, maintained, upgraded, reused, remanufactured and refurbished.

Ireland launched the ORESS Tonn Nua auction, its second offshore wind auction, in May 2025, to procure 900MW of capacity off the coast of Waterford on the south coast. This auction adopted a ‘single-winner’ model, which marked a significant departure from the multi-winner structure used in the previous ORESS 1 auction in 2022, which secured around 2.6GW of capacity off Ireland’s east coast.

Ireland has committed to achieving 5 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind capacity and 80% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030. The government has previously indicated that at least three more offshore wind auctions would be necessary to meet these targets by 2030.

Like other EU countries, Ireland has several pathways to comply with NZIA while managing cost and delivery risks. The consultation closes on 9 October.

Commenting on the ORESS consultation, Garrett Monaghan, a renewable energy expert with Pinsent Masons in Dublin, said: “Although the inclusion of NZIA non-price criteria to future ORESS is not unexpected, the cost and bidder appetite impact of any actual or proposed adjustments to ORESS cannot be overlooked.”

Monaghan said that any potential “criteria creep” would need to be carefully evaluated. “The overwhelming priority needs to be the delivery of the ORESS 1 and 2 projects,” he added.