Around 200 construction jobs will be created in the development of the world’s largest marine renewable energy research centre at Ringaskiddy, writes Ronan Bagnall.
The development of UCC’s 14m Beaufort Research Laboratory will be officially launched on Thursday aboard the Irish Naval vessel LÉ Róisín.
The research facility will become a key part of Ireland’s plans to tap into the job-creation potential of ocean energy.
Construction work on the Beaufort Research Laboratory, to be located at the centre of Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) in Ringaskiddy, will begin in December.
On a visit to the site last year, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Ireland must “look to the sea for employment” when he launched plans for the sea and wind energy cluster.
The plans included the development of a top-end research and enterprise campus to attract the world’s best researchers to Cork Harbour to exploit the potential for up to 52,000 jobs in ocean energy by 2030.
Beaufort Research will employ up to 135 researchers when fully complete and operational in 2016.
The facilities at the 4,700m² laboratory include the National Ocean Energy Test Facility, incubation suites for industry and offices and associated facilities.
Adjacent to the National Maritime College, it will form UCC’s physical presence within the research cluster.