The ScotWind auction is the first time in a decade that plots of seabed in Scottish waters have been up for grabs. So when the successful bidders are announced on Monday could it power a long-awaited renewables revolution? Over the next decade these new offshore wind farm sites could supercharge renewable energy capacity, more than doubling everything currently built, or planned, in Scottish waters. At the moment the capacity of offshore wind in Scotland is about 2GW, a small fraction of overall renewables. The Moray East project, in the Outer Moray Firth, recently became Scotland’s single largest source of renewable energy, with a capacity of 950MW from 100 offshore turbines, enough to power about 650,000 homes. It will be eclipsed in the next year by Seagreen, located about 27km off the Angus coast, which will be slightly bigger at 1,000MW or 1GW. In total, projects which have consent and those already in the pipeline come to less than 10GW. The ScotWind auction, whose successful bidders will be announced on Monday, should see at least a further 10GW added to the Scottish market and maybe more as technology becomes more efficient. By industry calculations that has the potential to power seven million homes, almost one quarter of the total number in Britain.
BBC 16th Jan 2022 read more »
Scotland’s largest-ever auction of permits to construct offshore windfarms is expected to raise up to £860m when the results are announced on Monday. Crown Estate Scotland, which is running the auction, hopes that windfarms with as much as 10 gigawatts of new generating capacity will be built over the next decade, effectively doubling the amount of electricity generated in Scottish waters in a transition which has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs. The programme, known as ScotWind, has attracted frenzied interest from domestic and international bidders, and could set new records for values placed on the plots of seabed being leased for turbines.
Guardian 16th Jan 2022 read more »
HUGE opportunities are anticipated with the outcome of the ScotWind auction – the first time in 10 years that plots of our seabed have come up for sale. The results will see successful bidders gaining the lease rights to build offshore windfarms following a process that started last July.
The National 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Winning bids are to be revealed for swathes of seabed in the outer firths of Tay and Forth for the development of new wind farms capable of powering hundreds of thousands of homes. Large chunks of the sea bed off the coast of Angus and Fife are up for grabs, with 74 bids submitted by companies competing to win the rights to develop new projects in Scottish waters. The arrays are expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs in the renewables sector. The new east coast licences, Marr Bank and Berwick Bank, will build on existing wind farm developments, Neart Na Gaoithe, Inch Cape and Seagreen, which are currently being progressed off the east coast at a cost of several billion pounds.
Dundee Courier 16th Jan 2022 read more »
The ScotWind offshore wind programme has been hailed as an unprecedented boon for Scotland and the UK, providing jobs, cash and infrastructure – but how do government and industry ensure these local benefits are delivered? Seventy-four bids have been submitted by companies and consortia looking to secure awards in the 10-gigawatt (GW) ScotWind offshore wind leasing round. Many have promised billions of pounds of investment and thousands of jobs in Scotland if they make good on their bids.
Energy Voice 17th Jan 2022 read more »