Galway Bay fm newsroom - Four projects have been provisionally awarded Government contracts to build offshore wind energy projects - including in Connemara.
EirGrid ran an auction, and has secured enough energy to power 2.6 million homes a year.
Among the successful projects is the proposed Sceirde Rocks wind farm, 15 miles west of Carna.
It's been awarded 450MW and will be the first offshore development of its kind along the west coast.
The other three of the successful applicants will be based in the East, near Drogheda and Dublin.
CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, Noel Cunniffe, says the next step is planning applications, then construction: