Floating Energy Allyance Secures Rights to Develop Major Floating Wind Project in Scottish Waters
Floating Energy Allyance Secures Rights to Develop Major Floating Wind Project in Scottish Waters
17 January 2022
The Floating Energy Allyance has secured the rights to develop a floating offshore wind farm with an approximate capacity of 1GW off the northeast coast of Scotland through Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing round, which concluded today (Monday 17 January).
The ‘option agreement’ is for the area designated NE8 in the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind, which is located some 75km to the northeast of Fraserburgh on the Aberdeenshire coast.
The Allyance is a development partnership comprising BayWa r.e., a global renewable energy business with UK offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh; Elicio, an experienced Belgian offshore wind developer, owner and operator; and BW Ideol, a proven floating technology leader and international floating wind project co-developer.
The Allyance will now seek to re-engage with key stakeholders, step up environmental surveys and progress further work on design as it moves towards developing detailed proposals for the project as it prepares to applying for consent.
FEA expects to enter into an Option Lease Agreement with CES by April 2022.
Responding to the award, Matthias Taft, CEO of BayWa r.e., said:
“We are delighted that the partnership’s unique breadth and depth of capability and expertise has been recognised by Crown Estate Scotland. “We believe that our project will put the Floating Energy Allyance at the heart of Scotland’s offshore wind sector and also place Scotland at the very forefront of the global push to develop floating wind.”
Paul de la Gueriviere, CEO of BW Ideol, said:
“This award underlines the pertinence of our co-development model and shows once again how BW Ideol’s unique value proposition contributes to a winning and differentiating bid. We strongly believe that a credible execution and industrialization plan, accurate cost assumptions, a proven and bankable technology, and the option to manufacture our concrete floating foundations locally will contribute to our project’s successful execution. “We will continue with our plans to create a manufacturing hub in the north of Scotland as illustrated by the strategic partnership agreement signed between BW Ideol and the Port of Ardersier in September 2021, and more generally to work to engage with the wider Scottish supply chain.”
Alain Janssens, CEO of Elicio, commented:
“Elicio has built significant expertise through our involvement in the development and operation of four offshore wind projects in Belgian waters, and we look forward to applying those lessons to the development of our ScotWind site. “I would like to thank everyone across the partnership that has played a part in securing this exciting new chapter for Floating Energy Allyance and for Scotland’s offshore wind sector.”