Ossian wind farm off Aberdeenshire moves a step closer

Developers say it could produce enough energy to power up to 6 million homes annually and offset up to 7.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

They have submitted the consent application for its offshore array, which will export to the UK national grid via connections to Lincolnshire.

The project is being co-developed by a partnership comprising leading Scottish renewable energy developer, SSE Renewables, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) and Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

Read More:

• Protestors issue warning over controversial Energy Transition Zone in Aberdeen

• Huge job losses predicted for oil & gas but what about the green jobs revolution?

• North south 'electrical spine' to export energy from Scotland under £60bn plan

At up to 3.6GW of installed capacity, Ossian would be among the largest floating offshore wind farms globally.

Ossian’s Development Lead, Rich Morris said: “We have submitted a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment report to the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate, and we’re committed to continuing engagement with the statutory consultees and wider stakeholder community.

“We are confident this submission will support the timely delivery of the UK’s largest floating offshore wind farm ensuring Ossian is ready to take full advantage of ongoing grid reforms and National Grid ESO’s move to a ‘first ready, first connected' model.

“We have worked hard to reach this significant milestone which is crucial in paving the way for a decarbonised future and supporting the Scottish and UK governments’ net zero targets.”

The location of the proposed Ossian wind farm (Image: Ossian)

Ossian says it has consulted with over 30 organisations including regulatory and industry bodies across nature conservation, fisheries, aviation and shipping and navigation, to ensure the application is reflective of their views.

Extensive surveys have also gathered enormous amounts of key data relating to the wind farm array.

This includes Ossian’s collaboration with other ScotWind developers to document the habits of bird populations in the wider North Sea region. The survey involved four aircraft flying simultaneously once a month to collect high-definition images across an 11,550km2 area in the North Sea and took 690 hours to complete.

In November last year, Ossian also became the first ScotWind floating offshore wind farm to complete essential geotechnical surveys.

Earlier this year, a year-long metocean data gathering campaign collecting information relating to wave height, currents, tides, and sediment movements was concluded. 

All the surveys are key parts of the assessment, which is required to be submitted to support applications for a Section 36 consent and marine licences relating to offshore renewable energy developments. 

Copies of the report will be available to view free of charge July 23 as part of a public consultation which runs until September 3.

The report can be viewed at Stonehaven Library, Carnoustie Library and Dunbar Library.

An online version will also be available during this consultation period via a dedicated online portal which can be accessed here.

The project was one of those granted a lease under ScotWind, the process of making seabed available for commercial-scale offshore wind projects.

It resulted in 20 projects securing seabed option agreements, with a total of just under £750m be to paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the Scottish Government for public spending.

Simon Hodge, chief executive of Crown Estate Scotland, said at the time: “Today’s results are a fantastic vote of confidence in Scotland’s ability to transform our energy sector. Just a couple of months after hosting COP26, we’ve now taken a major step towards powering our future economy with renewable electricity.

“In addition to the environmental benefits, this also represents a major investment in the Scottish economy, with around £700m being delivered straight into the public finances and billions of pounds worth of supply chain commitments. The variety and scale of the projects that will progress onto the next stages shows both the remarkable progress of the offshore wind sector, and a clear sign that Scotland is set to be a major hub for the further development of this technology in the years to come.” 

Other projects approved include BP's Morven, an approximately 860km² lease located around 60km off the coast of Aberdeen expected to support up to £10 billion of investment in offshore wind development.