Simply Blue Group are an early-stage developer of blue economy projects in floating offshore wind, wave energy and low-impact aquaculture. Headquartered in Cork City, they have offices in Dublin, Edinburgh, Pembroke, Newquay, Oregon and Hamburg. The company currently employ 63 staff, up five-fold over the past 18 months.

SBG have a global pipeline of 9GW of floating offshore wind projects. In Ireland and the British Isles, they have 3GW of floating offshore wind projects, partnered with Shell New Energies (Ireland), Total Energies (Wales) and Subsea 7 (Scotland). They are also developing wave energy off County Clare and a low-impact aquaculture project in Scotland, using state-of-the art waste capture technology.

A flagship development from Simply Blue is the Emerald Floating Wind project that will be located around the former Kinsale Gas Fields. Another is the Western Star project which will be located at least 35km off the west coast of Co Clare. Both projects will have a capacity of 1.35gw, enough to power 1,145,000 homes each. Energy giant Shell has entered an agreement with Simply Blue for a share in both projects.

Their efforts off the Cork coast to deliver offshore wind are paving the way for one of the most radical transformations in the region, not seen since the IDA promotion of Ringaskiddy for pharmaceuticals. In 2021, international investor Octopus Renewables invested €15m in the company taking a 24% stake highlighting the future potential for the firm and its future projects. SBG is also paving the way in the US in terms of offshore wind and have carried out supply chain studies in the UK.

Their business model is unique and their customers are joint venture partners. Their ability to drive successful partnerships with these global companies reflects SBG’s commitment to excellence in their project development process, including their approach to project management, engineering and consenting.

Director of the Simply Blue Group, Dr Val Cummins who is Project Managing Director of the Emerald and Western Star projects said:
“Being a finalist in the Cork Company of the Year awards is a huge honour, given the exceptional pedigree of businesses operating from the thriving hub of Cork.”

“This is a ‘coming of age’ milestone for Simply Blue Group, as we have been scaling rapidly, growing our talented and passionate team from our headquarters in Cork’s Docklands. Being shortlisted acknowledges our success in partnering with some of the largest companies in the world, and in raising investment from Octopus Renewables. We are delighted that the Chamber recognises the importance of the work of Simply Blue Group, as we work with the oceans to address the climate, energy and food security crisis worldwide.”

Winners will be announced on 5th May 2022.

KeyFacts Energy: Simply Blue Energy Ireland country profile