A floating windfarm in Scotland, on track to be one of the largest in the world, is one of 37 Scottish projects to be supported by the UK Government in the latest round of renewables contracts.
The Scottish Government welcomed the successful applications, particularly those from offshore wind projects, which made no applications in the last round of contracts for difference due to the low price offered.
Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy Gillian Martin said: “We welcome the news that 37 Scottish projects across fixed and floating offshore and onshore wind, solar and tidal stream have successfully secured a Contracts for Difference (CfD) award under Allocation Round 6.
“Following the absence of any applications from offshore wind developers to last year’s allocation round, this is a step in the right direction for the sector and demonstrates the importance and capability of Scotland to deliver zero carbon power.”
Green Volt, a floating wind project planned for 80km off the North East coast of Scotland, at up to 560 MW of power is set to become Europe’s first commercial-scale floating wind farm and the world's largest floating offshore wind farm – over four times bigger than the largest floating project operating today.
The project is being developed by Flotation Energy, which is headquartered in Edinburgh, and the Norway-based offshore wind company Vårgrønn.
Nicol Stephen, CEO of Flotation Energy said: “Scotland is already a global pioneer in floating wind. This funding will kickstart the next phase of Europe’s largest floating wind project 80 km off the coast of Northeast Scotland. Green Volt is a huge £2.5 billion project. It will create over 2,800 jobs during construction. Once operational, the floating offshore wind farm will supply clean power to the UK grid, while also supplying renewable electricity to nearby oil and gas platforms.”
The Inch Cape A and B offshore wind projects, located in Scotland off the Moray Coast, set to provide 1080 MW of power, also secured contracts.
Inch Cape will connect to the national grid via an 85 kilometre offshore cable route and through an onshore substation currently under construction at Cockenzie in East Lothian.
Inch Cape project director, John Hill said: “The award of the contract for difference is an important milestone for the project as we continue to work closely with our key suppliers and stakeholders towards achieving financial close later this year.”
This was the sixth round of contracts for difference (CfD), the mechanism that provides fixed payments for electricity generators, shielding them from fluctuating market prices for electricity. The last round awarded 3.7 GW of renewables projects, but no offshore wind developers put themselves forward due to the low strike price offered.
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The UK government increased the auction budget by 50%, with the result that nine offshore wind contracts were awarded, amongst them these Scottish projects as well as Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4, off the Yorkshire coast.
Gillian Martin said: “Scotland’s burgeoning renewables sector has huge potential. We need to see even greater project numbers and renewables capacity delivered through the CfD in future and we will be engaging with industry to understand the implications for projects that were not successful in this year’s allocation round.
“We will continue to work with the UK Government to ensure that maximum support, sufficient budget and more longer-term certainty is provided to Scottish projects in Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7.”
Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “Today’s results are positive for Scotland as they enable projects coming forward across a number of key renewable technologies.
“This auction represents a welcome step in the right direction and largely provides cause for optimism. Scotland has an enviable pipeline of offshore wind and potentially world-leading sites in floating wind. The award of a CfD for what is currently the largest floating offshore windfarm across the globe, is therefore very encouraging.
"However, recent auctions have failed to deliver the smaller test and demonstration projects which would be helpful to gain the expertise and learning required to develop floating technology and its supply chain.
“It is also important the UK government understands that today’s auction results mean it is still not on track to achieving its clean power mission by 2030 so further actions will be required.
“With this auction round procuring less than half of the eligible offshore wind capacity we are now at a critical juncture and the UK Government must ensure that next year’s auction brings forward the capacity needed to deliver its net-zero targets.”
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