Crown Estate Scotland, manager of Scotland’s seabed, has announced the launch of the first round of offshore wind leasing in Scottish waters for a decade.
The round, called ScotWind Leasing, enables companies at the cutting edge of offshore renewables to apply to build Scotland’s new generation of offshore wind farms and help power the transition to a net-zero future, Crown Estate Scotland, said.
According to Crown Estate Scotland total investment in ScotWind Leasing projects could potentially surpass £8bn, and ScotWind could deliver more than enough green electricity to power every Scottish household.
"It’s anticipated that ScotWind will significantly increase the amount of power generated from offshore renewables, a major step towards meeting the Scottish Government’s target of Scotland being net-zero by 2045," Crown Estate Scotland said.
John Robertson, Crown Estate Scotland’s Head of Energy & Infrastructure said, “Today is a huge step forward in kick-starting Scotland’s green recovery, meeting net zero targets and bringing multi-billion pound investments to benefit communities across the nation.
“Offshore wind is currently one of the cheapest forms of new electricity generation and Scotland is perfectly poised to host major new projects, with a well-established energy skills sector as well as some of the best natural marine resources in Europe.”
Scotland’s Energy Minister, Paul Wheelhouse MSP, said: “The launch of ScotWind – the first offshore wind leasing round to be administered in Scotland – is a very important milestone for Crown Estate Scotland and Scottish Ministers, but also marks another pivotal moment for the development of our offshore wind sector and also presents an opportunity to help develop our strategic economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we emerge from the crisis, we have a chance to re-imagine the Scotland around us, and to begin building a greener, fairer and more equal society and economy, one in which wellbeing, fair work, and social justice are prioritized.
“Our seas are host to some of the best offshore wind resources in the world, supporting the continuing growth and expansion of the sector. We want to harness this huge resource for our energy system, unlocking significant investment in the supply chain to create more green jobs across the sector and, importantly, to do so in a way that gives due regard to our marine environment and other marine activities.
“My colleagues and I encourage all interested applicants to get involved in ScotWind, to bring forward projects which will help us drive forward Scotland’s green recovery and our transition to becoming a net-zero society by 2045.”
From Wednesday, June 10, investors and developers will be able to register interest in obtaining an ‘option agreement’ with Crown Estate Scotland. These can then lead to the signing of leases to build offshore wind farms in one of the areas of seabed to be outlined as suitable in The Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.
As part of any lease application, developers will have to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement, outlining how they plan to engage with and utilise supply chain to successfully develop their projects.
It will include information on the geographical location of supply chain activity and Evidence relating to how their plan can be fulfilled.