Under the terms of the development agreement signed by EDPR, SeaEnergy Renewables Limited (SERL) (the 80% owned subsidiary of SeaEnergy), and The Crown Estate (“Agreement”), the companies have been awarded the exclusive rights to develop wind farm sites within the zone which will generate enough electricity to power 730,000 homes.
EDPR and SERL have formed Moray Offshore Renewables Limited (MORL) to develop the zone and the agreement provides SERL with the right to retain a 25% working interest in MORL and all designated wind farm developments within the zone, whilst EDPR holds a 75% interest.
The awards were announced following The Crown Estate’s Round 3 Offshore Wind application process, which aims to deliver 25GW of wind power installed capacity. Forty applicants put forward applications for the nine zones which The Crown Estate opened to tender in June 2008.
“I am delighted to announce that EDPR and SERL have been awarded the right to develop Moray Firth Zone 1 in our Round 3 offshore wind programme. The 32GW of installed capacity proposed by the offshore wind energy developers for 2020 would supply a quarter of the UK’s electricity needs,” said Roger Bright CB, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate.
The zone MORL will exploit is located on the Smith Bank in the Moray Firth off the northeast coast of Scotland and covers an area of 520 square kilometres. It is approximately 25 kilometres southeast of the Caithness coast and has water depths of between 30 and 60 metres. The strategic environmental assessment, commissioned by DECC, has concluded that there is scope for the construction and operation of an additional 25GW of offshore wind farms subject to certain restrictions on their location.
“Offshore wind energy is one of the biggest sources of renewable energy on the planet and still largely unexplored. The UK Round 3 is the biggest tender for renewables ever and marks the definitive commitment of the UK to an energy source that is not only clean but also economically viable,” declared António Mexia, Chairman of Edp Renováveis.
MORL will commence an extensive data gathering process within the zone shortly which will include bird and mammal studies, recording of metocean information and wind source analysis within the Moray Firth. This process will take at least 24 months, ahead of planning consents which should be submitted in early 2013.
“Our island has one of the best wind energy resources in Europe and today’s news shows we’re creating the right conditions for the energy industry to invest in harnessing it. This is one of the strongest signals yet that the UK is locked irreversibly into a low carbon, energy secure prosperous future,” stated the UK’s Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband.
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