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ARTICLE · 28 OCTOBER 2026

ORESS 2027: New Rules Beyond Price

William Fry LLP
William Fry LLP
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William Fry LLP

William Fry LLP

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Ireland's Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has proposed sweeping changes to offshore renewable energy auctions that would transform how projects qualify for support. Unlike previous schemes where price determined winners, developers bidding for the Lí Ban offshore wind site must now satisfy mandatory environmental, cybersecurity, and supply chain criteria before competing on price. Will these new requirements successfully reduce European dependence on third-country suppliers wh

IrelandEnergy and Natural Resources
Eva Barrett
Eva Barrett
Fergus Devine
Fergus Devine
Jason Milne
Jason Milne
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The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (Department) is consulting on how Article 26 of the EU Net-Zero Industry Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1735) (NZIA) will apply to future Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) auctions.

Unlike the sixth Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction (RESS 6), where non-price criteria carry 15% of the score, the ORESS proposal makes every non-price criterion a pass/fail entry test. This test would apply to all auctioned capacity. The proposal reflects the purpose of the NZIA which aims to scale up European manufacturing of net-zero technologies and reduce reliance on a small number of third countries. To achieve this, developers must be encouraged to buy components based on more than price.

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