Huge Total ScotWind project 'first ever' to win onshore and offshore approvals
Two-gigawatt project will feature up to 125 wind turbines located around 30km west of the Orkney archipelago
A massive offshore wind farm being developed by TotalEnergies and Corio Generation has made history by becoming the first ScotWind project to secure both onshore planning permission and offshore consent.
The West of Orkney Windfarm has been granted offshore consent by the Scottish Government – a major milestone for the multi-billion pound 2GW project.
The decision by Scottish Ministers was announced today by the West of Orkney project and follows a recommendation by the government’s Marine Directorate Licensing Operations Team.
West of Orkney said it is the “first ScotWind project to secure both onshore planning permission and offshore consent.”
There are 20 ScotWind projects with seabed option agreements, according seabed landlord The Crown Estate Scotland, all announced in 2022. Up to 35GW of offshore wind capacity has been tendered under the ScotWind and INTOG programmes, the latter being a leasing round for projects that will directly reduce emissions from oil and gas production.
Project Director Stuart Macauley said the project will deliver enough power for around two million homes and that its construction would “spark significant investment in Scotland’s supply chain, port and harbour infrastructure, and the skilled jobs that would follow.”
“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.”
The Highland Council approved in principle the project’s application for onshore planning permission – covering the underground cables and electrical infrastructure required to connect the windfarm to the grid – last year.
The council in March indicated it would raise no objection to the offshore planning application.
The project, which also counts Renewables Infrastructure Development Group as a developer, is to be located around 30km west of Orkney – a Scottish archipelago – with up to 125 turbines on fixed foundations.
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