Scottish Government launches first round of offshore wind leasing

Crown Estate Scotland, manager of Scotland’s seabed, has launched the first round of offshore wind leasing in Scottish waters. The multi-billion pound investment opportunity will form a major part of Scotland’s green recovery. 

The round, called ScotWind Leasing, enables companies at the cutting edge of offshore renewables to apply to build Scotland’s new generation of offshore wind farms and help power the transition to a net-zero future. Some highlights include: 

• Total investment in ScotWind Leasing projects could potentially surpass GBP8 billion (US$10.2 billion)
• ScotWind could deliver more than enough green electricity to power every Scottish household  
• Over 6 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved per year 
• Measures included to promote and enhance the supply chain to help ensure projects can be developed  

It is anticipated that the ScotWind will significantly increase the amount of power generated from offshore renewables, a major step towards meeting the Scottish Government’s target of Scotland being net-zero by 2045. 

The investors and developers will be able to register interest in obtaining an ‘option agreement’ with Crown Estate Scotland. These can then lead to the signing of leases to build offshore wind farms in one of the areas of seabed to be outlined as suitable in The Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.

The information for potential applicants is accessed through an online portal here.