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Another wave of wind farms offshore Scotland
Three proposed farms will have a total generating capacity of 2.3 GW
The Scottish government has granted consent for the building of four very large offshore wind farms with a total generating capacity of nearly 2.3 GW. The developments are in the Forth and Tay region:
- the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm, led by Mainstream Renewable Power and situated in the Outer Forth Estuary 15 km off the coast of Fife in the North Sea
- the 1,000 MW Inch Cape Offshore, a joint venture partnership formed between Repsol Nuevas Energías UK and EDP Renewables UK, off the Angus Coast; and
- Projects Alpha and Bravo, with a combined generating capacity up to 1,050 MW and located 27 km and 38 km respectively at their closest points from the Angus coastline, being taken forward by Seagreen Wind Energy, a joint venture partnership formed between Fluor and SSE Renewables.
The consents are granted subject to conditions which will mitigate and monitor a range of potential impacts including those in relation to birds and other environmental considerations. The Scottish government aims eventually to generate the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s gross annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020, as part of a wider, balanced, energy mix.
Mainstream Renewable Power’s Neart na Gaoithe will consist of up to 75 wind turbines and will occupy an area of approximately 80 km2 in water depths of 45–55 metres. It will have a generating capacity equal to 3.7% of Scotland’s total electricity demand and be the first large-scale offshore wind farm operated in Scottish waters to be directly connected to the Scottish electricity system, says Mainstream.
Meanwhile, electricity has been generated for the first time at Westermost Rough offshore wind farm off the coast of East Yorkshire, built by a joint venture between DONG Energy and its partners Marubeni Corporation and the UK Green Investment Bank. This milestone has been achieved less than a month after the first of 35 Siemens 6 MW turbines was erected. Once all 35 turbines are in place, expected in the first half of 2015, the wind farm will be capable of generating up to 210 MW of electricity.
