Scotland awards mammoth 25GW of offshore and floating offshore wind

Scotland has awarded 17 leases worth nearly 25GW for the development of offshore wind and floating offshore wind farms, including a gigawatt-scale floating offshore project developed by Ørsted and up to 5GW worth of floating offshore wind to be jointly developed by Shell and ScottishPower.

The mammoth ScotWind Leasing round is the first Scottish offshore wind leasing round in over a decade and the first ever since the management of offshore wind rights were devolved to Scotland.

Managed by Crown Estate Scotland, the government body that oversees land and seabed rights for the Crown, ScotWind awarded 17 projects out of a total of 74 applications with just under £700 million to be paid by successful applicants in option fees which will be passed on to the Scottish government for public spending.

A total of 24,826MW was awarded in a round split evenly between fixed offshore wind farms and floating offshore wind farms.

Leases for fixed offshore wind farms were awarded to six projects with a combined capacity of 9,755MW, while leases for floating offshore wind farms were awarded to 10 projects with a combined capacity of 14,576MW.

A single lease was awarded to a 495MW project to include a mixture of fixed and floating offshore wind.

“Today’s results are a fantastic vote of confidence in Scotland’s ability to transform our energy sector,” said Simon Hodge, chief executive of Crown Estate Scotland. “Just a couple of months after hosting COP26, we’ve now taken a major step towards powering our future economy with renewable electricity.

“In addition to the environmental benefits, this also represents a major investment in the Scottish economy, with around £700m being delivered straight into the public finances and billions of pounds worth of supply chain commitments.

“The variety and scale of the projects that will progress onto the next stages shows both the remarkable progress of the offshore wind sector, and a clear sign that Scotland is set to be a major hub for the further development of this technology in the years to come.”

The largest of the awarded projects was a 3GW floating offshore wind farm awarded to ScottishPower who will develop the site alongside British energy giant Shell. The two developers were also awarded a 2GW floating offshore wind site.

The two new wind farms will be delivered through two joint ventures called MarramWind and CampionWind and, upon completion, the two projects will generate electricity equivalent to the needs of 6 million Scottish homes.

“Shell and ScottishPower can now look forward to generating floating wind power at significant scale in the UK to accelerate the country’s transition towards net zero,” said Wael Sawan, integrated gas and renewables and energy solutions director at Shell.

“Floating wind plays to our strengths in deeper offshore projects, and we are well placed to help advance the wider take-up of this important clean energy source. Renewable electricity will play an increasingly important role in our customer-focused strategy, as we provide more low-carbon products and services customers need for their own journey to net zero.”

Separate from its activities with Shell, ScottishPower was also awarded a 2GW fixed offshore wind lease for the MachairWind project off the coast of Islay.

“Offshore wind is set to become the backbone of the UK’s energy mix and will do the heavy lifting as we ramp up the production of clean electricity on the journey to Net Zero,” said Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower.

“Our ScotWind projects will make the best use of our fantastic natural resources to help power the UK’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables and a better future, quicker.

“They will also deliver investment, support jobs and boost supply chains – particularly in areas like the north-east that play a key role in the energy sector – opening up immense opportunities for businesses and institutions across the country. This is a pivotal moment that will reinforce the UK’s position as the global leader in offshore wind and give a significant boost to the economy.”

Another notable winner from the ScotWind lease awards was Danish energy giant Ørsted, whose consortium including Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy was awarded a floating sire with up to 1GW of capacity.

“I’m pleased that we have been given the opportunity, together with our partners Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy, to develop this project and compete in future floating wind tenders in Scotland with this gigawatt-scale lease,” said Martin Neubert, chief commercial officer and deputy group CEO at Ørsted.

“I commend Crown Estate Scotland for awarding lease rights at large scale and with focus on development phase commitments, which is exactly what is needed to allow for financially sustainable development and to make floating and deeper water wind cost-competitive.”