Arbitration Tribunal Overturns Neart na Gaoithe CfD Termination

An arbitration tribunal has ruled in favour of Mainstream Renewable Power in relation to the dispute over the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) terminating the Contract for Difference (CfD) for Mainstream’s 450MW Neart na Gaoithe wind farm off Scotland.

Neart Na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Limited (NnG), was awarded the CfD under the first allocation round in 2014 and entered into its CfD with LCCC on 26 March 2015.

LCCC issued a termination notice in relation to NnG’s CfD on 29 March 2016.

NnG subsequently initiated the dispute, as per the dispute resolution processes set out in the CfD, in relation to the termination notice issued.

”The arbitration tribunal has made its decision in NnG’s favour under the dispute resolution procedure set out in the CFD. The details of the dispute are, and will remain, confidential as both parties are bound by the confidentiality obligations both within the CFD and the rules of the arbitration,” Mainstream said in a statement.

Neart na Gaoithe is also one of four offshore wind farms in the Firths of Forth and Tay for which the consent granted by the Scottish Ministers in 2014 is currently under judicial review following a legal challenge against the projects by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

An appeal by the Scottish Ministers in respect of the judicial review was heard in the Court of Session in Scotland in early 2017.

Mainstream expects to reach a Final Investment Decision for the project in 2018, with construction starting in 2019 and first commercial supply of electricity occurring in 2021.