Did you know that Belfast has an offshore wind terminal? Me neither, but apparently it has. And this really really matters because the off-shore wind terminal is going to be turned into a major construction hub for two massive offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea. The plan is to deliver enough clean energy to power around “three million UK homes”. Around £100 million is going into the construction of a “new deep-water berth”, and there’ll be jobs generated all over the place, as well as producing clean energy. The British Secretary of State Hilary Benn says it’s :fantastic news for Norther Ireland and the wider UK , generating jobs and economic growth while supporting the development of affordable clear energy. It’s clear that “this deal will secure Northern Ireland’s key role in the UK’s clean energy future”.
Well, who could quarrel with that? Clean energy – none of that mucky oul’ stuff that sends up black smoke and pollutes everyone and everything. I have just two tiny reservations.
The first can be summarised in two words: Casement Park. Was I dreaming or did a British Secretary of State declare – nay, guarantee -that Casement Park would be refurbished and ready and gleaming for the Euros in 2028? In fact the deep-water facilities that are basic to this humungus economic opportunity will be ready for use by…yep, 2028. That’s the year the Euros will be played. Without the participation of the guaranteed clean-as-a-whistle Casement Park.
The other is this thing about NEI playing “a key role in the UK’s clean energy future”. A week is a long time in politics, and by 2028 you may be sure that the surge in planning for a new Ireland will have grown and strengthened. What am I suggesting? I’m suggesting that within two years of the commencement of this wunnerful project, there may have been a border poll which took NEI out of the UK and into a new sovereign 32-county state. In that event, who’s going to tend to the UK’s clean-energy needs?
Both or either of those matters could end up with grass growing out of the deep water facility and another promise by a British Secretary of State proving to be just so much (you guessed it, Virginia) clean but hot air.
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