© Supplied by BP The Scottish government has granted offshore consent to the 2 GW West of Orkney windfarm in a major milestone for the multi-billion pound project.
As a result, the West of Orkney offshore wind development becomes the first ScotWind project to secure both onshore planning permission and offshore consent.
The windfarm, located around 30km off the west coast of Orkney, is being developed by a partnership of Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and Renewables Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG).
Construction of the project is slated to begin in 2027, with first power scheduled for 2030.
According to planning documents, the project could deliver up to 4,147 jobs in the UK and up to 2,053 jobs in Scotland across its lifetime, with around 100 long term jobs in operations and maintenance.
West of Orkney project director Stuart McAuley said the project’s 125 fixed-bottom wind turbines will deliver enough renewable electricity to power around two million average homes.
“Its construction would spark significant investment in Scotland’s supply chain, port and harbour infrastructure, and the skilled jobs that would follow,” McAuley said.
“We’d like to thank the Scottish government, their officials and all of the stakeholders and suppliers who have worked with us so proactively to make this happen.
“This underlines a clear commitment by industry and government to work together on growing an offshore wind industry in Scotland.”
West of Orkney developers seek policy certainty
McAuley said the project team will continue working with the Scottish and UK governments “to achieve the certainty required” on key regulatory areas to ensure West of Orkney goes ahead.
These areas include transmission charges, zonal pricing, and the rules for future Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction rounds, including this year’s seventh allocation round (AR7).
“Gaining clarity on these points will be crucial for investors to fully understand the economic case for progressing into construction and operation,” he said.
© Supplied by Caithness Business F“The UK government has set out ambitious decarbonisation goals for 2030 and beyond, and our pioneering windfarm, backed by major international investors, can deliver jobs, inward investment and make a significant contribution to the energy transition in Scotland.”
The offshore consent for West of Orkney comes after Highland Council officials approved in principle the project’s application for onshore planning permission.
Highland Council also indicated in March it would raise no objections to the offshore component of the project, paving the way for Scottish ministers to approve the plans.
Alongside connection to the UK grid, the West of Orkney developers had previously identified the proposed Flotta Hydrogen Hub on Orkney as a potential power export opportunity.
However, a spokesperson for West of Orkney windfarm told Energy Voice that the Flotta Hydrogen Hub is no longer being considered as a potential offtaker, and the project “will only connect into the National Grid”.
ScotWind and AR7
West of Orkney becomes the first of the 20 projects which secured a lease as part of the ScotWind round in 2022 to secure offshore and onshore planning consent.
Fellow ScotWind developer Ocean Winds submitted its offshore planning application in November last year, while the Muir Mhòr joint venture project secured onshore consent this month.
It comes as the Scottish government aims to speed up progress on planning decisions for ScotWind and other offshore wind projects, such as the 4 GW Berwick Bank project.
The SSE Renewables Berwick Bank project missed out on applying for the AR6 CfD round as it continues its two-year wait for approval.
Fears have been rising that this is having a chilling effect on private sector investment and having a knock-on effect on the supply chain.
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce has warned that delays in approving offshore projects are putting billions of pounds of investment and thousands of jobs at risk.
Further delays to Berwick Bank could potentially scupper plans from Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas to build a Port of Leith factory.
Meanwhile, with West of Orkney securing its offshore and onshore planning permissions, the project may be eligible to enter the AR7 process this year.
A spokesperson for West of Orkney windfarm told Energy Voice that the developer is still determining whether to enter the project into AR7.
“We and our investors are working with industry and the UK government to achieve the certainty required on key regulatory areas such as transmission charging, electricity market reform and the rules for future CfD auction rounds,” the spokesperson said.
