Scotland Approves 6.4 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Projects

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The Scottish government has given its stamp of approval to 10 offshore windfarm projects with a combined capacity of 6.4 gigawatts (GW).

The 10 projects in Scottish territorial waters were originally outlined in February 2009 by the Crown Estate, which oversees the development of the U.K.'s seabed. The Scottish government's approval was outlined in "The Draft Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in Scottish Territorial Waters," which details ambitious plans for wind energy in Scotland. In addition to the 10 sites currently mentioned, the report identified 25 other sites with the potential for windfarm development by 2030.

The document says that the "environment and technical assessment has concluded there are no significant environmental effects which cannot be avoided or reduced through appropriate project planning and development." The government now wants development on the projects to start as soon as possible, and the Crown Estate has confirmed that it is ready to sign contracts with the proposed developers.

"For centuries, Scotland's seas have provided a lifeline to many of our coastal communities," said Scotland's Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead while launching the consultation at the All Energy Conference in Aberdeen. "We now have an opportunity to harness a new dimension of this natural resource for 21st-century Scotland in the form of marine renewables, including offshore wind. Today's launch marks a major step in our commitment to make Scotland a powerhouse of renewable energy in Europe. We have already pledged to generate 20% of all energy, and 50% of electricity, from renewable sources by 2020. This requires that the current capacity of nearly 4 GW is doubled to 8 GW. The Crown Estate has identified 10 areas, with the generation capacity of around 6.4 GW, where commercial leases for offshore wind energy developments could be granted."

Jenny Hogan, director of policy at Scottish Renewables, said: "This framework should help enable offshore renewables to be sited in the right places, mindful of local environmental constraints and the needs of other sea users. We will respond to this consultation to ensure the plan underlines that we can tackle carbon emissions while minimising the impact on the environment through sensible siting and design of projects, which should be welcomed by all those who have a stake in the health of our seas."

In addition to becoming one of the most active offshore wind markets, in March Scotland took steps to becoming a leading player in the new marine energy sector by awarding leasing rights for 10 projects with a combined generating capacity of 1.2 GW. For additional information, see March 18, 2010, article - Scotland Awards 1.2 Gigawatts of Marine Energy Projects. The leasing rights went to six wave and four tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters. The winning projects will all be commercial-scale operations and, according to the Scottish government, represent the largest marine-energy concentration in the world.

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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