SSE wind farm gets the green light
The 588MW Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm (BOWL), which is set to be situated in the Outer Moray Firth, is expected to inject approximately £680m into the UK and Scottish economy through employment and supply chain opportunities during the construction phase, along with an additional £400m at least during the wind farm’s 25 year operational life.
The site, which will consist of 84 turbines, was granted consent by the Scottish Government in March 2014 and won an investment contract from the UK Government in May 2014, while the project is also being backed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and SDIC Power, which own 35 and 25 per cent respectively, with SSE having a 40 per cent share in the proposal.
Work at the operations and maintenance facility in Wick and the transmission works in Moray will begin this year, while offshore construction is set to start in 2017, with the wind farm is expected to become fully operational in 2019.
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Amber Rudd said: “The UK is the world leader in offshore wind; and this industry, backed by the UK Government and benefiting from our access to the EU single market, is a success story going from strength to strength.
“This project will provide home-grown clean energy boosting skills and creating jobs and financial security for working people and their families in Scotland, and across the UK.”
The project is expected to bring a range of socio-economic benefits to the local, regional, Scottish and UK economies during both the construction and operational phases, with SSE citing job creation, skills training, investment in Scottish ports and harbours, supply chain opportunities and community benefit funding as some of the potential benefits.
Paul Cooley, Director of Renewables at SSE, is delighted that the farm has achieved Financial Close, stating that the firm is extremely grateful for all of the support it has received throughout the development of the project.
“Contracts have already been placed with many UK based suppliers, and Siemens intend to undertake turbine blade construction from Siemen’s new manufacturing facility in Hull," he said.
“Around £10m of investment is planned at Wick Harbour to house the wind farm’s operations and maintenance facilities and improving the existing RNLI facilities. We expect a peak of around 65 jobs during construction of the O and M base with around 90 long-term jobs anticipated during the operational phase.
“Today’s decision reaffirms SSE’s commitment to offshore wind and we are proud to progress such a flagship project for the Scottish offshore wind industry and the UK’s skilled supply chain. It shows SSE will continue to play its part in investing in the critical energy infrastructure the country needs to power homes across the UK both today and in the future.”
Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Business, Innovation & Energy in the Scottish Government, added: “This is great news for the industry and I congratulate the owners SSE, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and SDIC Power on achieving this significant milestone in the development of this multi-billion pound infrastructure project.
“The Beatrice Offshore Windfarm has the opportunity to deliver so much to Caithness and Scotland as a whole, in terms of employment and community benefit. Scotland’s renewables sector is stronger than ever and our early adoption of clean, green energy technology and infrastructure was the right thing to do. Renewables are now Scotland’s biggest electricity generator, and nearly half of gross electricity consumption comes from renewables.
“Scotland is well on course to meet its interim renewables target and is delivering a strong contribution to global climate efforts. I look forward to this project contributing to our green energy mix.”
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