Scotland's 1GW Buchan floating wind giant calls in Natural Power for environmental check
Developer alliance made up of BayWa re, Elicio and BW Ideol hire consultancy to lead key next step for massive project awarded as part of ScotWind tender in January
The developer consortium constructing the giant 1GW Buchan floating wind project off Scotland have named consultancy Natural Power to lead the environmental impact assessment (IEA) phase, a key step forward the North Sea array.
Being built by the Floating Wind Allyance consortium, made up of Germany’s BayWa re, Belgium’s Elicio and Norwegian-owned technology outfit BW Ideol, on the ScotWind NE8 site, Buchan will developed some 75km on the Aberdeenshire coast in water depths of 75-110 metres using ‘damping pool’ foundations topped with 15-20MW turbines.
“Having secured the rights to develop [the project now known as Buchan] off the northeast coast of Scotland through Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing round in January 2022, the Allyance is now progressing further work on environmental studies and design as it moves towards developing detailed proposals for consent,” said the companies, in a statement.
“This is a brilliant project that not only puts Scotland at the forefront of floating wind, but also brings significant benefits for our supply chain, skills and employment opportunities,” said Chris Pendlebury, director of environment at Natural Power.
“As we continue to grow our environmental team, projects like these ensure our people are at the forefront of the industry working with pioneering technology on a global scale, with the very best of it happening here in Scotland.”
The Floating Wind Allyance secured two grid connections from the UK national grid operator in July 2021 to link the project into the onshore electricity network.