The West of Orkney Windfarm has been granted offshore consent by the Scottish Government – a major milestone for the multi-billion pound, 2 gigawatt offshore wind scheme.

The decision by Scottish Ministers, following a recommendation by the government’s Marine Directorate Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT), makes the West of Orkney Windfarm the first ScotWind project to secure both onshore planning permission and offshore consent.

The windfarm, which is being developed by a partnership of Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and Renewables Infrastructure Development Group, is to be located around 30km west of the Orkney Mainland and 25km north of the Sutherland coast with up to 125 turbines on fixed foundations.

Welcoming the decision, Project Director Stuart McAuley said:
“The West of Orkney Windfarm has the potential to deliver enough renewable electricity to power around two million homes. Its construction would spark significant investment in Scotland’s supply chain, port and harbour infrastructure, and the skilled jobs that would follow.

“We’d like to thank the Scottish Government, their officials and all of the stakeholders and suppliers who have worked with us so proactively to make this happen. This underlines a clear commitment by industry and government to work together on growing an offshore wind industry in Scotland.

“Like many projects in Scotland and the UK, we and our investors are focused on working with government to achieve the certainty required on key regulatory areas such as transmission charging, electricity market reform and the rules for future CfD auction rounds. Gaining clarity on these points will be crucial for investors to fully understand the economic case for progressing into construction and operation.

“The UK Government has set out ambitious decarbonisation goals for 2030 and beyond, and our pioneering windfarm, backed by major international investors, can deliver jobs, inward investment and make a significant contribution to the energy transition in Scotland.”

The Highland Council approved in principle the project’s application for onshore planning permission – covering the underground cables and electrical infrastructure required to connect the windfarm to the national transmission network in Caithness – in June 2024. In March of this year, the council indicated it would raise no objection to the offshore planning application submitted to Scottish Ministers.

The developer has already instigated and supported various initiatives in the north of Scotland, including a £1 million research and development programme being led by EMEC in Orkney, a £900,000 education initiative led by UHI, and a £125,000 Fit 4 Renewables scheme led by ORE Catapult.

The offshore consent submission included applications for consent under the Electricity Act 1989 and marine licence applications under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Accompanying these is an extensive suite of assessments based on survey data collected over two and a half years.

The West of Orkney Windfarm

The West of Orkney Windfarm is being developed around 30km off the west coast of Orkney and around 25km from the north Sutherland coast. With an expected capacity of around 2GW, and first power scheduled by 2030, the project will be capable of powering the equivalent of more than two million homes.

The West of Orkney Windfarm lies wholly within the “N1” Plan Option, which is one of 15 areas around Scotland which the Scottish Government considered suitable for the development of commercial scale offshore windfarms. The Scottish Government published the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in October 2020 following over two years of extensive analysis, consideration and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders.

In January 2022, the consortium was successful in securing an Option Agreement from Crown Estate Scotland for the project in the ScotWind leasing process. The West of Orkney Windfarm also has a grid connection agreement with National Grid for a connection in Caithness.

The project has now received planning permission in principle from The Highland Council under the Town & Country Planning Act for the onshore works required to connect to the grid in Caithness.

The project has also submitted comprehensive offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers including applications for consent under the Electricity Act 1989 and marine licence applications under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Accompanying each application is an extensive suite of assessments based on survey data collected over two and a half years.

Investing in Scotland

Over its lifetime the West Orkney Windfarm project is targeting 60% UK content, with 40% coming from Scotland and ambitions for more. This will be unlocked by:

• Committing  to a £105 million investment initiative that will be enhanced to £140 million by third parties to support the offshore wind supply chain locally and ensure high levels of content from Scottish and UK companies.
• Supporting significant employment opportunities and playing a critical role in helping both Scotland and the UK meet their net zero targets.
• Providing the renewable power necessary to generate green hydrogen at the proposed Flotta Hydrogen Hub on the island of Flotta on Orkney, which itself could drive significant supply chain benefits not captured in by the windfarm.

KeyFacts Renewable Energy Directory: Corio Generation   l   TotalEnergies UK country profile