The Republic of Ireland achieved a “significant milestone”, according to its government, as at the end of December 2022 a batch of Maritime Area Consents (MACs) for offshore wind projects have been issued. Seven new projects, amounting to 2.5GW, will enter the Irish planning system and are expected to take part in ORESS 1, the first round of offshore wind auctions set to take place in 2023. Ireland set itself a target of 7GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, up from just 25MW today, but the European country is no stranger to wind farms – 5.5GW of onshore wind farms are currently powering the entire island of Ireland (4.3GW belonging to the Republic of Ireland while the rest of…