First Minister hails 'historic' offshore windfarm auction around Scotland
17 new sites have been sold off.
Last updated 17th Jan 2022
17 new offshore windfarms are going to be constructed around Scotland's coastline as a selection of companies bid almost £700 million for the development rights.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is calling it "possibly one of the most significant days in energy and industrial terms that Scotland has seen for a very, very long time".
Crown Estate Scotland was charged with overseeing the ScotWind Leasing bidding process, which received 74 applications from energy firms.
The final awards, which include contracts with Scottish Power, Shell, SSE and BP, total £699.2 million.
Most of the sites are on the east, north east or northern coast, with just one on the western side of Scotland.
Shell New Energies is the lead applicant on the most expensive development, off the coast of Aberdeen, estimated to cost £86 million in option fees.
While a site in the north east, construction of which will be led by Scottish Power Renewables, has the highest capacity, with 3,000 megawatts expected to be produced.
The developments - a combination of floating, fixed and mixed turbines - are estimated to produce almost 25,000 megawatts of energy.
"Historic day" - Sturgeon
"I think it's hard - really hard - to overstate the significance of today's announcement for our energy, environmental and economic future," the First Minister said as she made the announcement in Irvine.
"What's been announced today - although there's lots of work to be done to bring it to fruition - really has the potential not just to meet energy needs from renewable sources, but to position us as a major exporter in renewable energy and green hydrogen, but it also brings massive opportunities for the economy."
While the total impact on the supply chain and on the number of jobs created will not be known until later in the process, the First Minister said there estimates suggest as much as £1 billion could be generated for every gigawatt of power - meaning the final benefits could total £25 billion.
"So that raises the prospect of thousands, tens of thousands, perhaps, of jobs - good, high-quality green jobs - as we make that transition into net zero," she added.
Fishing industry fears
But the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) has raised concerns about what the projects would mean for their industry.
"In the rush to energy transition, it is vital that our industry's voice is properly heard and that the fleet's access to Scotland's productive fishing grounds is protected," said SFF chief executive, Elspeth Macdonald.
"In particular, proper scrutiny must be given to developers' claims that offshore windfarms and fishing activity can co-exist with little change to existing patterns of activity, since our experience to date shows very strongly that the opposite is the case.
"Fish are not uniformly distributed in our seas - the fleet cannot simply move somewhere else. We need genuine and meaningful engagement, mutual respect and an even-handed approach to planning, consenting and licensing.
"Marine renewables are clearly part of Scotland's transition to net zero, but so is fishing. For this to be a just transition, there must be space for both to succeed."