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Tonn Nua has been designated by the Irish government as the only site for bidders under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) Tonn Nua, Ireland’s second offshore wind auction. The auction offers a partially indexed 20-year contract for difference (CfD), and the right to apply for a seabed lease and grid connection for the winning bidder. The contract for difference is to support the development of a 900 MW fixed-bottom offshore wind farm for the Tonn Nua site.

The Tonn Nua site is in an early phase of development. The project now needs to be assessed, matured and successfully pass all gates in the JV’s stage-gate process, including meeting the value creation criteria. Final investment decision is expected around 2031 and first power in the mid-2030s.

Alana Kühne, Head of Region Europe Development at Ørsted, said:
“We commend the Irish government for running a successful auction continuing the support for the development of offshore wind in Ireland. Offshore wind will play an important part in the future Irish energy system ensuring green, affordable and secure energy. We will continue to work with our joint venture partner ESB to carefully assess and progress this early-stage development opportunity, including ensuring that the project lives up to our value creation criteria.”

Jim Dollard, Executive Director for Generation & Trading at ESB, commented:
“ESB is delighted with the outcome of the ORESS Tonn Nua auction. It secures a clear pathway for the development of a significant project off the coast of County Waterford marking another important step toward Ireland’s renewable energy and Net Zero ambitions. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver a project that provides significant energy security and price certainty for Irish consumers.”

The Tonn Nua project 
The awarded project is for a fixed-bottom offshore wind development at the Tonn Nua maritime site, located off the coast of County Waterford.  

ORESS Tonn Nua is Ireland’s second support regime for offshore renewable energy development, and the first offshore wind auction under the new state-led planning regime.  

The next step for the project is to seek a Maritime Area Consent and Marine Usage Licence from the Irish Maritime Area Regulatory Authority in order to commence surveying and assessment ahead of submitting a planning application for the development.

About the CfD
The two-way CfD has been awarded at a strike price of EUR 98.719 per MWh. The partially indexed CfD will run for 20 years from wind farm commissioning expected in the mid-2030s.  

Ireland’s transmission system operator (TSO) EirGrid will build the transmission assets (offshore and onshore substations and export cables). The Tonn Nua Offshore Wind Farm must be operational by the longstop date of 1 January 2037 under the CfD terms and conditions.

About the joint venture
The joint venture is jointly owned by ESB and Ørsted. In 2023, ESB and Ørsted entered a 50/50 partnership to jointly develop a pipeline of offshore wind projects off the Irish coast. Tonn Nua is the first offshore wind development site progressed to auction under the partnership.

For further information, please contact:

Ørsted Global Media Relations 
Kathrine Westermann  
+45 99 55 57 21  
kawes@orsted.com  
  
Sarah Thatt-Foley  
+353 (0)83 156 5690  
sarfo@orsted.com  
  
Ørsted Investor Relations  
Valdemar Hoegh Andersen  
+45 99 55 56 71  
Ir@orsted.com

ESB media contact  
Aoiffe Llewellyn
aoiffe.llewellyn@esb.ie

About Ørsted  
Ørsted is a global leader in developing, constructing, and operating offshore wind farms, with a core focus on Europe. Backed by more than 30 years of experience in offshore wind, Ørsted has 10.2 GW of installed offshore capacity and 8.1 GW under construction. Ørsted’s total installed renewable energy capacity spanning Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America exceeds 18 GW across a portfolio that also includes onshore wind, solar power, energy storage, bioenergy plants, and energy trading. Widely recognised as a global sustainability leader, Ørsted is guided by its vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs approximately 8,000 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2024, the group’s operating profit excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees was DKK 24.8 billion (EUR 3.3 billion). Visit orsted.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. 

About ESB  
ESB was established in 1927 as a statutory body under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927. With a holding of 97.1%, ESB is majority owned by the Irish Government. The remaining 2.9% is held by the trustees of an Employee Share Ownership Plan. As a strong, diversified utility, ESB operates across the electricity market, from generation through transmission and distribution, to supply of customers, in addition to using our networks to carry fibre for telecommunications. ESB is the leading Irish utility with a regulated asset base of approximately €14 billion (comprising ESB Networks €11 billion and NIE Networks €3 billion), a 25% share of generation in the all-island market, and retail businesses supplying electricity and gas to almost 1.9 million customer accounts throughout the island of Ireland and Great Britain. During the year ended 31 December 2024, ESB Group employed an average of almost 9,600 people.

Attachments

At many organizations, senior leaders have a positive view of their employees’ ability and willingness to use AI. In our recent survey of 1,400 U.S.-based employees, 76% of executives reported that their employees feel enthusiastic about AI adoption in their organization. But the view from the bottom up is less sunny: Just 31% of individual contributors expressed enthusiasm about adopting AI. That means leaders are more than two times off the mark.

Artificial intelligence is slowly entering the world of reserve management, but not in the way outsiders might assume. A new report by OMFIF’s Global Public Investor Working Group shows central banks approaching AI with caution shaped by years of market shocks, cybersecurity incidents and the hard lessons of operational risk. Behind the interest lies a simple tension. AI can make reserve management faster and more efficient, but it also expands the attack surface, accelerates market dynamics and exposes institutions to mistakes they cannot afford.

The working group, made up of BNY, Bridgewater and Capital Group, brought together 10 central banks through bilateral exchanges across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their discussions revealed a pattern that cuts across mandates and regional tensions. The technology is coming, but central banks want control before capability. They are not willing to let algorithms set the pace.

Adoption is happening, but mostly at the edges

Most institutions are experimenting with AI only in low-risk processes: scanning market news, flagging anomalies and summarising reports. According to OMFIF’s Global Public Investor 2025 survey, 61% of central banks say AI is not yet supporting their operations in any meaningful way (Figure 1.1). Those dipping their toes in describe it as a practical convenience rather than a strategic tool.

A European participant of the working group discussions noted that AI can help unclog routine bottlenecks, easing the burden on small teams. Others see potential in automated data processing or environmental, social and governance data screening. AI may accelerate workflows, but it is not allowed near decisions that carry financial, reputational or political consequences.

Figure 1.1. Adoption of AI is limited

How is artificial intelligence supporting your operations? Share of respondents, %

Source: OMFIF Global Public Investor 2025 survey

Those furthest ahead are also the most uneasy

A striking insight from the working group conversations is that the institutions with the most advanced use of AI are also the most concerned about its risks. They understand the potential, but they also see the limitations. Model reliability remains a top worry, especially given how often AI tools misinterpret unusual scenarios. Central banks, whose work revolves around rare but disruptive shocks, have little tolerance for such risks.

Cybersecurity is the bigger fear. One policy-maker warned that a breach involving reserves data would not just be an operational problem but a political one. In their words, prudence is credibility. Central banks are keenly aware that adopting AI without airtight governance could endanger both.

AI may make accelerate crises

One of the most interesting working group exchanges came from a central bank already testing AI-driven analytics in market monitoring. Its concern was not about errors in calm times, but about what happens when markets are stressed. Broader use of AI in trading could accelerate how quickly liquidity disappears, turning crises that once unfolded over days into minutes.

This concern is grounded in how these systems are built. Models trained on comparable datasets often respond in similar ways, which can help steady markets during quiet periods, though it also raises questions about how they might behave when conditions turn volatile. For reserve managers who rely on liquidity to defend currencies or stabilise markets, this poses a profound challenge.

Figure 1.2. Central banks prioritising digital capacity

Are you looking to introduce or expand your use of the following digital technologies? Share of respondents, %

Source: OMFIF GPI 2025 survey

The working group’s conversations showed that the divide between central banks on AI is not about enthusiasm but about capability (Figure 1.2). Some institutions have in-house data scientists and secure enterprise environments. Others have small teams, limited budgets and governance structures that make experimentation slow.

A participant said: ‘We lag, but we cannot lag forever’. For these institutions, AI is less a choice and more an inevitability. But they need training, digital infrastructure and peer support before it becomes safe to bring AI closer to core functions.

The next phase will be about control

Central banks have no interest in outsourcing judgement to machines. The working group report makes clear that human oversight is the anchor. AI can summarise, filter and accelerate, but decisions remain with people.

The question is not whether AI will enter reserve management. The question is how central banks manage the risks it brings. The institutions that move carefully but deliberately by strengthening cybersecurity, investing in skills and building internal capacity will be best placed to employ the technology without being overwhelmed by it.

AI can sharpen decision-making. It can also destabilise markets. Navigating that tension is becoming one of the defining tasks of modern reserve management.

Yara Aziz is Senior Economist at OMFIF.

Download ‘Redefining resilience in reserve management’.

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