HUNDREDS of floating wind power turbines could be deployed in the North Sea under a plan that it is claimed could deal with the bulk of emissions associated with the production of oil and gas in the area.
The Cerulean Winds venture is seeking fast-track regulatory consent for a 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development it says will decarbonise the majority of United Kingdom Continental Shelf assets.
The £10 billion proposed “green infrastructure play” would involve putting huge floating windfarms in place West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea off the Scottish mainland.
READ MORE: Floating windfarm coup for Aberdeen engineering giant as interest in sector grows
Cerulean says the power from the windfarms would be sufficient to reduce emissions from UKCS oil and gas production assets well ahead of targets while leaving enough to power large-scale green hydrogen production facilities.
The project could help safeguard thousands of jobs.
Cerulean is led by oil services entrepreneurs Dan Jackson and Mark Dixon, who have worked on a wide range of North Sea developments.
After lining up leading oil services firms to work on the project and taking soundings among financial market players, the company is seeking clearance from the Scottish Government and Marine Scotland for the scheme.
It hopes to win clearance separately from the ScotWind licensing round that is being conducted by Crown Estate Scotland, which will cover acreage closer to the mainland than that Cerulean is eyeing.
Mr Jackson said: “The decision to proceed with the scheme will ultimately rest with the Scottish Government and Marine Scotland and their enthusiasm for a streamlined regulatory approach.”
READ MORE: Can renewables jobs make up for Scottish oil decline?
He added: “The UK is progressing the energy transition, but a sense of urgency and joined-up approach is required to enable rapid decarbonisation of oil and gas assets or there is a risk of earlier decommissioning and significant job losses.”
Cerulean said the proposed plan would not require subsidy support and could be expected to generate hundreds of millions of pounds revenue for the public sector through leases and taxation through to 2030.
Energy firms and financiers have made clear they think the UK offshore wind market is attractive. SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said last week the energy giant could bid for acreage on which to deploy floating windfarms in the ScotWind round.
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