Scottish Renewable welcomes ScotWind leasing results as the bring next generation of offshore wind farms one step closer
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The announcement that 17 successful bidders have been awarded permission to begin developing the next generation of Scotland's offshore wind farms has been welcomed by industry body Scottish Renewables as creating an incredible platform for industrial transformation and revitalisation in the country.
The first offshore wind leasing in Scottish waters for a decade received a total of 74 bids, largely from members of Scottish Renewables, with 17 successful bidders confirmed.
Claire Mack, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, welcomed the publication of the list of successful bidders by Crown Estates Scotland as signalling the beginning of a new stage of development and opportunity for Scotland's offshore wind sector.
Scotland already has 1.9GW of operational offshore wind, and another 8.4GW in construction or advanced development, but the Scottish Government has an ambition for 11GW of offshore wind to be deployed by 2030.
Ms Mack said: “Today’s announcement on the outcome of the first ScotWind leasing round is an exciting and significant moment in Scotland’s renewable energy story, with offshore wind set to make a major contribution to bringing about our net-zero future.
"The potential for 17 new projects creates huge ambition for our sector to deliver on, and will require strong collaboration to deliver maximum impact for our economy and environment. The scale of commitment to Scotland’s supply chain outlined alongside today’s announcement creates an incredible platform for industrial transformation and revitalisation.
“These lease offers add greatly to our existing pipeline of projects in construction and development. Scotland now has an extensive and attractive offshore market, and the most seabed dedicated to commercial floating wind development anywhere in the world. These 11 floating wind projects give Scotland a historic opportunity to create a major new sector to drive the blue economy, drawing on our deep water expertise and making a just energy transition a reality in the North Sea.
“Many congratulations to the winning companies, who were amongst a huge number of strong proposals to deliver the next generation of wind farms in Scotland’s seas. Many challenges lie ahead but I am delighted to see a range of both established and new faces who will invest so much over the coming decade to bring these projects to life.
“It is particularly exciting to see wind farms able to progress right around our coast, from Islay in the west, to Lewis and Orkney and right down the east coast. This means a new range of communities are set to benefit from the growing economic impact of the offshore wind sector. Throughout this leasing process bidders have put forward their plans to maximise their use of Scottish suppliers, and now the whole sector is able to move forward in a strategic way to invest for the long-term success of our ports and supply chain."
