22 August 2022
Ocean Winds designated preferred bidder for seabed leases for 2.3 GW of floating projects east of Shetland, Scotland
As part of the clearing round for ScotWind leasing, Ocean Winds (OW), an international company dedicated to offshore wind energy and created as a 50-50 joint venture in 2020 by EDP Renewables and ENGIE, was designated preferred bidder for seabed lease options for two adjacent sites reaching 2.3 GW capacity, in depths that will require floating technology.
- Crown Estate Scotland announced the result of ScotWind Leasing round clearing process, awarding Ocean Winds with two seabed leases for floating offshore wind projects: a 1.8 GW capacity site with partner Mainstream Renewable Power, and another 500 MW capacity site, east of the Shetland Islands.
- Ocean Winds’ international portfolio of projects now reaches 14.6 GW of gross capacity, including 6.1 GW in Scotland.
The first project is a 1.8 GW site, that was awarded to a 50:50 JV partnership with Mainstream Renewable Power, located east of the Shetland Islands, and in approximately 100m water depth. The partners are committed to developing floating offshore wind on an industrial scale in Scotland, generating local jobs and opportunities in Scotland and the Shetland Islands.
The second project is a 500 MW site, also east of Shetland and within the NE1 ScotWind Draft Plan Option area. It enables OW to progress its ambition for commercial-scale floating offshore wind projects worldwide.
These adjacent sites are additional to the development rights for the NE4 429 km2 site in Moray Firth already awarded to Ocean Winds during the ScotWind process in January 2022 (the 2 GW Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm). With a proven foundation of delivery of projects, including Moray East – the largest offshore wind farm in Scotland, together with pioneering floating projects such as WindFloat Atlantic in Portugal, OW is well placed to take advantage of this opportunity to support the growth of the floating wind sector in Scotland. OW is currently operating, building, and developing, three offshore wind projects in Scotland (Moray East – 950 MW, Moray West – 882 MW, and Caledonia – up to 2 GW). The new awards mean that OW now has a total portfolio of 6.1 GW in Scotland.
Commenting Bautista Rodriguez, CEO of Ocean Winds:
“Ocean Winds is proud to receive the development rights of this additional offshore wind capacity, reaching a 14.5 GW portfolio. With more than 10-year experience from development and financing to operation as a pioneer in floating technology as well as successfully fast delivering bottom fixed offshore wind projects, we are confident in our ability to deliver those commercial scale floating projects and are excited to join forces once again with our long-term partner Mainstream Renewable Power. Both projects awarded will bring major benefits to Shetland and Scotland, as well as important contribution to Net Zero”.
Commenting Dan Finch, Senior Country Manager for Ocean Winds in the UK:
“Our team at Ocean Winds are delighted that we are strengthening our position in Scotland with these new projects, which build on our delivery experience here in Scotland, as well as internationally. We are excited to be joining the move to develop commercial scale wind farms off Scotland and keep on delivering clean energy for the country to meet its energy transition objectives.”