Floating Energy Allyance Says Its ScotWind Project Could Create 3,900 Jobs in Scotland

Floating Energy Allyance (FEA), a consortium comprising BW Ideol, Elicio, and BayWa r.e., has said that its proposals for a floating wind farm, submitted in the ScotWind leasing round, could create 3,900 jobs in Scotland at the peak of manufacturing and construction, if successful in winning the development rights.

Floating Energy Allyance (FEA) is one of number of bidders who submitted a total of 74 applications for 15 ScotWind sites to Crown Estate Scotland, which will announce the successful applicants in early 2022.

“We are under no illusions – we know that ScotWind is an incredibly competitive process, with 74 bids for 15 sites, reflecting the global interest in developing projects here in Scotland”, said Alain Janssens, CEO of Elicio. “However, we believe we have a compelling blend of experience and capability as we seek to develop the first commercial-scale floating wind projects in Scotland – and, potentially, a unique offering in term of the numbers of jobs our projects would create”.

The majority of the 3,900 jobs that could be created would be driven by FEA’s commitment to the manufacture of 100 per cent of floating concrete foundations at a port location in Scotland, according to Gordon MacDougall, Managing Director of Baywa r.e. UK.

Back in 2020, BW Ideol (then known as Ideol) signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the Port of Cromarty Firth to cooperate for the floating offshore wind sector, a few months after BayWa r.e. joined the company’s consortium with Elicio. Under the agreement, BW Ideol and its local construction partners would use the port’s land and firth berthing sites, and cooperate towards further developing the facilities and infrastructure to establish a concrete hull serial manufacturing yard for floating wind projects.

The latest update from the consortium states that the partners have assessed a number of ports along the east coast which would be suitable for manufacturing operations and that the consortium is now progressing an option with its preferred location.

The employment projections the FEA consortium published today (14 September) have been developed by the independent economic consultancy Biggar Economics.

The consortium also announced that, if successful in the ScotWind auction, it would invest in a new Floating Energy Allyance Supply Chain Fund to support as many Scottish companies as possible in competing for work across all phases of FEA’s projects.

“We have engaged with a number of established civil engineering and construction companies already present in the Scottish market; companies with a proven capability and expertise to manage local fabrication, and built up a significant supplier database through our engagement with the Scottish supply chain”, said Paul de la Gueriviere, Chief Executive of BW Ideol.