Crown Estate Scotland has today announced the outcome of its application process for ScotWind Leasing, 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. The results coming just months after Glasgow hosted the global COP26 climate conference show the huge opportunity that Scotland has to transform its energy market and move towards a net zero economy. Highlights include: 17 projects have been selected out of a total of 74 applications, and have now been offered option agreements which reserve the rights to specific areas of seabed; A total of just under £700m will be paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the Scottish Government for public spending; The area of seabed covered by the 17 projects is just over 7,000km2 (a maximum of 8,600km2 was made available through the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan); Initial indications suggest a multi-billion pound supply chain investment in Scotland; The potential power generated will provide for the expanding electrification of the Scottish economy as we move to net zero; The details of the 17 applicants who have been offered option agreements can be found below and in the downloads section.
Crown Estates Scotland 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Billions will be invested in high quality green jobs as part of Scotland’s transition to net zero. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the “truly historic” opportunity for Scotland’s net zero economy, as the winners of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing auction were today announced by Crown Estate Scotland. 17 projects, with a combined potential generating capacity of 25GW, have been offered the rights to specific areas of the seabed for the development of offshore wind power – with developers giving commitments to invest in the Scottish supply chain, providing opportunities for high quality green jobs for decades to come. The projects are expected to secure at least £1bn in supply chain investment for every 1GW of capacity proposed. They will also generate around £700 million in revenue for the Scottish Government and represent the world’s first commercial scale opportunity for floating offshore wind. As well as helping complete Scotland’s own journey to net zero, creating thousands of jobs in the process, our offshore wind resource also has the potential to position Scotland as a major exporter of renewable energy, including green hydrogen.
Scottish Government 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Crown Estate announces leases for 17 offshore wind projects in Scottish waters that would together boast 25GW of capacity. The UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry took a giant step forward today, with confirmation 17 projects with a combined capacity of 25GW are set to be awarded seabed leases in Scottish waters. The wave of projects could take a huge chunk out of the UK’s government’s target to deliver 40GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, prompting wind industry groups to hail the plans as the “start of a new era” for the country’s offshore wind sector. Crown Estate Scotland this morning announced the outcome of its application process for its ScotWind Leasing round, confirming that it had selected 17 projects from a total of 74 applications. The 17 successful projects, which include both fixed foundation and floating turbine projects, have now been offered option agreements which reserve the rights to specific areas of seabed. The agreements should deliver just under £700m in payments to Crown Estate Scotland, which will be passed on to the Scottish government. The projects range from 495MW to six separate mega-projects boasting between 2GW and 3GW of capacity. Successful bidders include many of the established and emerging leading players in the offshore wind industry, including SSE Renewables, BP Alternative Energy Investments, Vattenfall, Shell New Energies, and Scottish Power Renewables.
Business Green 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Money generated by ScotWind must be used to address jobs and training needs of Just Transition. Prospect have responded to news that the ScotWind auction has raised £700 million. Richard Hardy, Prospect National Secretary for Scotland said: “It’s vital that the money generated by today’s ScotWind announcements is used to address the jobs and training needs of a Just Transition if the Scottish Government is genuine about creating a ‘renewables revolution’. “We have seen decades of Governments failing to deliver on job promises in the renewable sector. It’s not good for Scotland or Scottish workers if the main beneficiaries of today’s announcement are factories and workers in the Middle East, China and Indonesia, something we have seen all too frequently in the past. “Scottish workers want to see a Just Transition into a renewable future with high quality jobs rooted in the Fair Work agenda, now is the time for the Scottish Government to step up to the plate and deliver.”
Prospect 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Energy Voice 18th Jan 2022 read more »
An auction of seabed plots for major offshore wind projects around the Scottish coast has netted £700m. Seventeen projects covering a total of 7,000km2 have been chosen in the first such leasing round in a decade. They have a combined potential generating capacity of 25GW – well above the expected auction outcome of 10GW. Scotland has 1.9GW of operational offshore wind, and another 8.4GW in construction or advanced development. The ScotWind leasing auction attracted more than 70 bids from major oil companies, utility firms and investment funds from around the world.
BBC 17th Jan 2022 read more »
The winning bidders have also promised to invest about £1bn in sourcing materials and services from Scottish supply chain companies for every 1GW of offshore wind capacity built, which could put local firms in line for £25bn of investment. Scottish Power, owned by Spanish energy conglomerate Iberdrola, emerged as the auction’s single largest winner after scooping up seabed rights to develop up to 7GW of offshore wind capacity alongside its partners – enough to power 8.5m UK homes. The company plans to develop two large-scale floating projects in partnership with Shell, a 3GW windfarm off the north-east coast of Scotland and another 2GW project off the east coast, as well as its own 2GW fixed offshore windfarm off the coast of Islay.
Guardian 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Edie 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Times 18th Jan 2022 read more »
The Scottish government has awarded 25 gigawatts of offshore wind project development rights, more than double the UK’s existing offshore wind capacity, in one of the biggest auctions of its kind in the world. More than half the projects, with a total capacity of 13GW, will use “floating” wind turbines, the first time that this technology, which is tethered to the seabed, will be deployed commercially at a large scale. The UK can already generate about 10GW of electricity from existing offshore wind farms but a number of other projects already under development will expand that capacity further. In 2020, the UK set a target of 40GW by the end of the decade as part of its 2050 net zero emissions target. The Global Wind Energy Council trade body said Monday’s auction result would allow the UK to exceed its 40GW target by 2030.
FT 17th Jan 2022 read more »
ScotWind could ‘accelerate some seabirds towards extinction’, warns RSPB. A leading charity has expressed concerns about the potentially devastating impact of ScotWind on Scotland’s seabirds.
Energy Voice 18th Jan 2022 read more »
Offshore wind farm capacity in the UK is set to triple in what has been hailed as “one of the country’s biggest ever steps” towards achieving net-zero emissions. Scotland has agreed to lease thousands of kilometres of its seabed to new projects, which is set to bring in £700m for the country’s government. The ScotWind programme has given the go-ahead to new wind farm developments which are forecast to boost capacity by 25GW. According to government figures, the current offshore wind capacity installed in the UK is around 11GW. Melanie Onn, from trade association RenewableUK, said it marked “the start of a new era” for the country’s offshore wind industry. “ScotWind represents one of the country’s biggest ever steps towards net zero,” she said.
Independent 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Energy companies are ready to install enough new turbines around Scotland to more than treble the UK’s offshore wind capacity, but face opposition from fishermen and conservationists. The move presents a test for UK planning laws, with a potential clash between the race towards net zero carbon emissions and the need to protect wildlife. Energy giants including Shell, BP and Scottish Power have agreed to pay £700m collectively for the rights to build 25 gigawatts of offshore wind around Scotland – both floating and fixed turbines – according to auction results announced on Monday. The Scottish Crown Estate’s first leasing round in more than a decade far outpaced expectations, with the 25 gigawatts planned amounting to more than twice the capacity expected and more than twice the UK’s current installed offshore capacity. Projects are expected to bring in about £25bn investment in Scottish supply chains and put the UK at the forefront of nascent floating offshore wind technology.
Telegraph 17th Jan 2022 read more »
Tens of billions of pounds are to be invested in Scotland, creating thousands of jobs, after a string of new offshore wind farms were approved in a “transformational” moment for the economy. Nicola Sturgeon expects £1 billion to be spent in Scotland for every gigawatt of power that is developed and is optimistic about the opportunities which will be created. The first minister said: “People working right now in the oil and gas sector in the northeast of Scotland can be confident of opportunities for their future. Liz Cameron, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief executive, said the development marked an “unrivalled opportunity” to create thousands of new skilled green jobs and “to train, retrain and upskill employees from other sectors to support the off-shore renewables industry”. However, Louise Gilmour, the GMB Scotland general secretary, said: “After the abject failure of the last decade on offshore wind manufacturing, progress will be judged on the number of jobs and scale of investment this leasing round brings to Scotland. “This is a massive test of the renewables industry’s environmental and social justice credentials, and the last chance saloon for political leaders who have promised a green jobs revolution for years.” Aedan Smith, the head of policy and advocacy for RSPB Scotland, said: “Without major action from the Scottish government, the scale of these new wind farms could cause greater harm to Scotland’s internationally important seabirds than the effects of climate change they are seeking to address and could also accelerate some seabird species towards extinction in Scotland.
Times 17th Jan 2022 read more »
ScotWind offshore wind farms: Scotland has a ‘historic opportunity’ but there’s real concern we could miss it – Scotsman comment. The auctioning of rights to create wind farms in the seas off the coast of Scotland was met by a chorus of criticism and concern from some.
Scotsman 18th Jan 2022 read more »
Scottish Government accused of selling off lucrative seabed ‘for a pittance’ as offshore wind farm projects announced. The Scottish Government has been accused of selling off lucrative seabed plots “for a pittance” after the announcement of 17 new offshore wind projects along the nation’s coastline.
Scotsman 17th Jan 2022 read more »
OIL giants have hailed their success in a landmark officlal auction which they said will unlock huge investment in windfarms off Scotland. BP, Shell and France’s TotalEnergies were among the winners of the ScotWind round, which generated huge interest around the world.
Herald 18th Jan 2022 read more »
SCOTLAND could be due another North Sea boom after bids were approved for offshore wind farms capable of generating more than twice the country’s electricity needs. It’s been 10 years since renewables firms had the chance to bid for a slice of the Crown Estate waters.
The National 17th Jan 2022 read more »
SCOTLAND now has the ability to become a global leader in floating offshore wind following the announcement of major new investments in the sector. ScottishPower chief executive Keith Anderson hailed the development of two new ground-breaking wind farms.
The National 17th Jan 2022 read more »