Crown Estate Scotland signs seabed agreement for 2.8 GW of offshore wind (UK)

Ocean Winds, Mainstream Renewable Power and ESB have signed seabed lease agreements with Crown Estate Scotland, the public corporation of the Scottish government responsible for the management of land and property, for the development of three floating offshore wind projects totalling 2.8 GW off the Shetland Islands in northern Scotland (UK).

The three projects include a 1.8 GW offshore wind park developed by Ocean Winds (a 50-50 joint venture between Engie and EDP Renewables) in partnership with Mainstream Renewable Power, an 500 MW floating offshore wind project proposed by Ocean Winds, and a 500 MW project secured by the Irish state-owned power utility ESB. Full seabed leases will be awarded at a later stage, once applicants have obtained the necessary consents from regulators, such as Marine Scotland, and have secured grid connections and financing.

In August 2022, Crown Estate Scotland opened its new Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) offshore wind leasing process, in which developers are being invited to bid for seabed leases off the coast of Scotland to build projects aiming to reduce emissions and boost innovation in the North Sea.