Members of the Northern Ireland Maritime and Offshore (NIMO) cluster including NIMO chair Stephen Kane, Sam McCloskey,NIMO Vice-Chair Kerry Muldoon, Executive Director of NIMO and Niamh Kenny, Member and chair of RenewableNI Offshore committee, recently met with Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibold to outline the significant opportunities in the maritime sector and to brief her on offshore matters and the marine economy.
The cluster highlighted the need to reestablish Northern Ireland as a maritime powerhouse with expertise and skills in shipbuilding. Critically, NIMO highlighted the opportunity in the Irish Sea between NI and Scotland (the North Channel) which provides prime areas for the generation of emissions free, renewable energy through the deployment of new generation wind turbines capable of collectively generating more than 1GW of electricity.
Executive director Kerry Muldoon says: “This is such a significant volume of power that it would help the region become more self-reliant at a time when world affairs are creating greater uncertainty particularly in energy. Such a project would significantly enhance the supply chain opportunities and make a very positive impact on the northern economy.”