16 July 2021
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3 min read
Hywind, the world's first floating wind project
Energy companies announce they have submitted multiple bids to ScotWind, the first offshore wind leasing round in Scottish waters for more than a decade
Shell and ScottishPower have revealed they plan to work together to develop some of the world's first large-scale floating wind farms, having submitted multiple bids to Scotland's offshore wind leasing programme.
In a statement published today, the energy companies announced they have submitted "multiple proposals" to ScotWind Leasing that could see them develop large floating wind farms off the north-east coast of Scotland.
The much-delayed offshore leasing round, which closed for applications today, is the first round of seabed leasing for offshore wind in Scottish waters in over a decade and will grant property rights for floating wind projects for the first time.
The fledgling floating wind sector is expected to expand rapidly over the coming years as space in shallow waters becomes increasingly limited and developers explore the potential for wind farms in deeper waters where fixed foundation structures are impossible and wind yields higher. Advocates of floating wind technologies argue they could help further reduce the cost of offshore wind power, while also tapping into higher and more reliable levels of generation.
A number of demonstration and R&D floating projects are already up and running, with Scotland's north east fast emerging as a hub for the new technology. The region is home to the world's first floating wind farm, the 30MW Hywind Scotland farm off the coast of Peterhead, and construction is underway on the 50MW Kincardine project in Aberdeen Bay.
ScottishPower and Shell said they had the "right blend of skills and experience" to develop a new generation of floating wind projects.
"Bringing ScottishPower and Shell's collective knowledge, experience and expertise together means we're perfectly placed to lead the way in developing large-scale offshore floating windfarms and creating a new green industry with massive potential for exporting our skills and experience globally and helping the UK decarbonise its energy generation," said ScottishPower CEO Keith Anderson.
"With just a few months until the COP26 UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, ScotWind will help create a whole new industry in floating wind that will play a crucial role in putting the country on course for a cleaner and greener future," he added.
Meanwhile, Shell UK country chair David Bench highlighted the employment and supply chain benefits that could be delivered by the proposed clean energy projects.
"If our bid is successful, Shell and SPR are fully committed to working with Scottish communities and businesses to help develop supply chains and expertise which could make Scotland a world leader in floating wind," he said. "At Shell we continue to grow our capacity to generate, trade and supply cleaner power to our customers and to play our part in powering the UK to net zero."
Shell and Scottish Power, which is subsidiary of Spanish renewables major Iberdrola, join a number of other energy giants that have submitted bids to ScotWind, including Vattenfall, BP, TotalEnergies, and Orsted, the latter of which has similarly announced its intention to apply for seabed leases in sites which lend themselves to the deployment of large-scale floating wind.
The ScotWind leasing round has been subjected to months of delays, with the most recent round of delays due to Crown Estate Scotland decision to launch a review into the round's option strategy after record bids were delivered for English and Scottish Wind farms in the Crown Estate's Leasing Round 4.
Crown Estate Scotland is expected to announce the results of the leasing round in early 2022.
