Canada-headed energy company Irving Oil Ltd and Simply Blue Group, an Irish blue economy developer in floating offshore wind, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a commitment to explore opportunities related to the potential development of an integrated renewable energy hub at the Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery in Co. Cork, Ireland.
According to a statement, this agreement will see the companies jointly exploring a series of opportunities that would contribute to the development of such a renewable energy hub at the Whitegate refinery – Ireland’s only refinery and a critical part of the country’s energy infrastructure – including the production of green hydrogen and its use in the production of electro-fuels (eFuels) for domestic and international markets.
Irving Oil and Simply Blue Group will also be assessing ways to integrate the significant planned offshore wind developments around Ireland into this renewable energy hub, including Simply Blue Group’s planned Emerald Floating Wind project, to be located approximately 50 km south of Cork.
Aligned with net-zero objectives
With a focus on leadership through the energy transition, Irving Oil has committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its operations and the development of more sustainable energy solutions.
The privately-held company has set targets to achieve a 30 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, as well as actively work towards a net-zero objective by 2050.
At Irving Oil, we are committed to leadership through the energy transition, and engaging in strong partnerships is a key part of our strategy as we all work toward a lower carbon future. The work we are starting with Simply Blue Group is another example of our energy transition strategy coming to life. Bringing together a key piece of energy infrastructure in Ireland – the Whitegate refinery – with Simply Blue Group’s global leadership in offshore wind development can create compelling new opportunities in Ireland, said Ian Whitcomb, President of Irving Oil.
The partnership with Simply Blue Group could yield important new opportunities to reduce emissions in the ongoing operations of the Whitegate refinery and enable the production of a new generation of ultra-low carbon energy products – specifically eFuels – aligned with evolving customer demands and energy policy within the European Union.
This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Simply Blue Group, and we are delighted to be working with Irving Oil as we jointly investigate the potential development of an integrated renewable energy hub at the Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery. The concept of integrating large-scale floating offshore wind farms with large onshore eFuel production facilities offers many advantages and this will provide Ireland with a significant opportunity to become an energy export economy. The continent of Europe cannot achieve net-zero without importing low-carbon fuels and Ireland is well set up to work with the oceans to deliver this solution, said Sam Roch Perks, CEO of Simply Blue Group.
