These rights apply on a 440 square kilometre site, designated “NE4” by Marine Scotland. This seabed will have a capacity to install around 1 GW. It is to be commissioned by the end of the decade, positioning Ocean Winds as a leader in the Scottish offshore wind market and actively contributing with around 2.9 GW to reach the UK’s 40 GW offshore target by 2030. The site output is expected to meet the needs of over 1 million average UK households.
The site has been named “Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm” by Ocean Winds. It lies in the outer Moray Firth, to the East of Scotland’s largest wind farm, the Moray East Offshore Wind farm (950 MW), developed by Ocean Winds and its partners, expected to enter commercial operation in early 2022, and Moray West (850 MW), currently under development.
Bids to develop this site were invited by the Scottish Government in summer 2021, as part of a competitive process to make new seabed areas available for electricity generation. It was the first time in a decade that new sites in Scottish waters had been made available for offshore wind in this way.
“We are very proud that our JV Ocean Winds, which is strongly committed to the development of the Scottish offshore wind industry since 2009, was successfully awarded today a new seabed area within the highly competitive ScotWind leasing tender” said Paulo Almirante, Engie Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Renewables, Energy Management and Nuclear Activities. “One specificity of this major project is the consideration being given to using part of the output for green hydrogen production. These two technologies, offshore wind and green hydrogen, are priorities for Engie. This is a new major success for Ocean Winds, after having secured a total 1.2 GW of Power Purchase Agreements in December through Mayflower Wind, (MA), USA.”
Jean Morrison, chair of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG), added that the award is a key milestone in Scotland’s energy transition and that, following the Glasgow COP26 talks in November, it signals a hugely exciting and transformational period for Scotland and the renewables industry across the UK.
"This will lead to considerable investment and supply chain opportunities in new offshore wind projects for Scottish waters" Ms Morrison said. “With the potential to yield 10GW of new generating capacity in Scotland over the next decade, this round plays an important role in our drive to achieve net zero, in addition to bolstering the industry’s UK supply chain and workforce. We’d like to congratulate all of the preferred bidders which include AREG member companies. We look forward to supporting and collaborating with all the bidders as the developments progress. In particular, AREG will build on its track record with the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm to offer successful ScotWind developers ‘Meet the Buyer’ style events to help the wider renewables industry navigate and maximise opportunities in these hugely significant projects. We can look forward to seeing progress with the detailed designs of the various developments and I anticipate we will see new technologies and innovations evolve to deliver what will be world class projects in Scottish waters.”
For additional information:
