Giant wind farm off Caithness coast would have 355m high turbines and produce 2GW of electricity
A planned offshore wind farm that looks set to dwarf the neighbouring Beatrice development would be a “low-risk” option, according to its developers.
Ocean Winds is seeking consent for its 2GW project off the east Caithness coast in the Moray Firth.
Project director Mark Baxter believes the company’s experience and proven track record in the location sets it apart from other renewable schemes.
Caledonia Offshore would sit alongside Moray East and Moray West wind farms as part of a cluster of renewable energy developments in the firth.
Ocean Winds was awarded the site in 2022 as part of the Scottish Government’s ScotWind process.
If consented, the wind farm would more than double the capacity of its operations in the Moray Firth, as the company owns both Moray East and Moray West.
It would consist of up to 140 turbines, with mostly fixed foundations, in an area of 423 square kilometres to the east of the Moray East wind farm, which has been operational since 2020. Each turbine would be up to 355m tall and the development would include up to four offshore substation platforms, with cabling coming onshore in Aberdeenshire.
Mr Baxter said: “We have been developing offshore wind generation in the Moray Firth for over a decade and a half. We build and operate the projects we develop, so we understand the value of frontloading investment in the early stages of the project to produce a high-quality application.
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“This enables the consenting authorities and their consultees to undertake their work with minimum difficulty or delay. This is especially important in the busy, competitive ScotWind environment.
“Our site and situation mean that not only can each phase of Caledonia be built with commercially established fixed foundation technology which we have optimised for cost at Moray East and Moray West, both sites can also be connected to shore using established AC technology.
“This frees Caledonia from delays caused by the lengthy waiting lists in the global DC supply chain, and means foundations are available from already-proven existing suppliers.
“There is also an opportunity to deploy floating structures in the south of the site to create a further springboard for the growth of floating offshore wind in Scotland.
“With Caledonia, Ocean Winds is doing more of what we have already successfully achieved, in the same place we have already done it. That makes us one of the lowest risk, most competitive ScotWind projects, capable of delivery in the shortest time.”
Ocean Winds said the application for offshore consent to the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate for 2GW of generation capacity follows three years of development work.
It is expected the wind farm would be developed in two phases, Caledonia North and Caledonia South.
Aleks Schmidt-Sweetingham, offshore consent manager, said: “Our consent application is a major milestone and comes after three years of intensive work to survey, research, study and model the natural and human environment of the Moray Firth to produce a high-quality Environmental Impact Assessment report.
“The application and the full EIA report, which covers both offshore and onshore, will be available for public consultation when confirmed by the Marine Directorate and advertised in the local and national press.”
Caledonia held a public consultation event in Wick in November 2022 when a spokesman described offshore wind as “Scotland’s powerhouse” and said developments in the Moray Firth were something that “people will be able to be proud of” as they brought new economic opportunities.
Ocean Winds, which has its headquarters in Madrid, is the result of a 50-50 joint venture by EDP Renewables and Engie.
The site is expected to begin generation in 2030.
