2 GW Scottish Offshore Wind Project Advances with Onshore Planning Application | Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND
2 GW Scottish Offshore Wind Project Advances with Onshore Planning Application | Offshore Wind
2 GW Scottish Offshore Wind Project Advances with Onshore Planning Application
The consortium behind the West of Orkney Windfarm, comprising Corio Generation, TotalEnergies, and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG), has submitted an onshore planning application to the Highland Council for onshore works for the 2 GW offshore wind farm.
The onshore application provides detailed information on the proposed cable landfills on the North Caithness coast, the project’s substation at or near Spittal in Caithness, and the underground cables which will extend around 20 kilometres and connect to the substation.
“Our application includes a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, managed through Xodus Group’s Stromness office, and includes thorough assessments of the environmental impact and proposes measures to avoid, reduce, monitor and manage potential challenges, where necessary,” said Jack Farnham, Development Manager.
“We’ve taken on board local communities’ feedback through a series of public events. The substation will be carefully screened by landscaping and native planting. Once operational, the substation will only be lit when necessary. We’re committed to reduce the volume of traffic on local roads and will continue to work closely with the council and local communities through the development process.“
Last year, the West of Orkney Windfarm secured the development rights to an area of seabed from Crown Estate Scotland in the ScotWind leasing process to bring forward an offshore wind farm 30 kilometres west of the Orkney Mainland and 25 kilometres north of the Sutherland coast.
In October the project reached a major milestone by submitting comprehensive offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers.
The West of Orkney Windfarm is planned to have up to 125 turbines on fixed foundations, an expected capacity of around 2 GW, and aims to deliver the first power in 2029.
“The onshore connection is a vital component of the project and will enable us to export clean electricity sufficient to power around two million homes. The cables to our substation will all be underground and once installed, the land will be reinstated,” said Farnham.
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Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.