Buchan Offshore Wind, a consortium comprising BayWa r.e., Elicio, and BW Ideol, has submitted offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers for its proposed 1 GW floating offshore wind farm.
The submission includes 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 and analysed over three and a half years.
Later this year, Buchan Offshore Wind will also submit a planning application for onshore works to Aberdeenshire Council, detailing the project’s underground cable route and connection to the existing transmission network at Peterhead substation.
“Over the past three years, the project team has hosted nine public events, engaging with residents across Aberdeenshire and the Buchan coast, as well as meeting with businesses and organisations across the region. These events have provided vital opportunities for local people to contribute to the project’s development, in order to reflect regional priorities and deliver long-term social and environmental benefits,” said Clare Lavelle , Project Director.
Buchan Offshore Wind is the developer of a floating offshore wind farm planned to be built 75 kilometres to the northeast of Fraserburgh on the Aberdeenshire coast. It secured development rights from Crown Estate Scotland as part of the ScotWind leasing process in 2022.
With an anticipated capacity of up to 1 GW and a connection date of 2033, the project would have up to 70 turbines.
Buchan Offshore Wind has identified BW Ideol’s Damping Pool floating substructure as its preferred foundation option, with BW Ideol working actively to establish a manufacturing centre at the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility being developed at the former oil and gas fabrication yard on the Moray Firth.
The project’s development would see more than GBP 900 million invested in Scotland’s manufacturing sector and supply chain, with around 2,900 jobs in Scotland at the peak of construction and close to 300 ongoing jobs during operation.