Three projects will be offered seabed agreements for offshore wind projects following Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind clearing process.
Clearing saw the ‘NE1’ area east of Shetland made available for ScotWind applicants who met the required standards but who did not secure their chosen location earlier in the leasing process.
The three projects’ initial supply chain commitments indicate an average of £1.2 billion investment in Scotland per gigawatt (GW) of capacity built.
A total of £56 million will be paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the SNP Government. Projects are currently expected to pay Crown Estate Scotland £4 million per GW per year once operating - this would also be paid to the SNP Government.
The three projects are expected to generate 2.8GW of electricity.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP said:
“ScotWind will deliver a new era in Scotland’s offshore wind industry, representing the world’s largest commercial round for floating offshore wind and breaks new ground in putting large-scale floating wind technology on the map at Gigawatt scale. It will provide several billion pounds more in rental revenues once projects become operational, to be invested for the benefit of the people of Scotland.
“The importance of accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources, including hydrogen, has been brought into sharp relief by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the cost of living crisis. In Scotland, nearly 100% of our net electricity demand already comes from renewable sources and we are focused on reducing energy demand and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy.
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“Offshore wind is one of the most important economic and environmental opportunities we have in Scotland.
“It can reduce our carbon emissions, improve our energy security, and create tens of thousands of high quality jobs across the country through the supply chain. It will bring benefits for all of Scotland and this step is a crucial part in the transition from being the oil and gas capital of Europe, to being the net zero capital of Europe.”
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