Scotland selects offshore wind projects to help decarbonise North Sea oil and gas

Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing aims to attract investment in innovative offshore wind projects in Scottish waters, as well as help decarbonise North Sea operations.   

The INTOG process allowed developers to apply for seabed rights to develop offshore wind projects that either reduce emissions from the North Sea oil and gas sector – by supplying renewable electricity directly to oil and gas infrastructure (TOG) – or consist of small-scale (IN) innovative projects of 100 MW or less. This distinctive offshore wind leasing is different to any other previously carried out in the UK or elsewhere in the world. 

INTOG, which was designed in response to demand from government and industry to help achieve the targets of the North Sea Transition Sector Deal through decarbonising North Sea oil and gas operations, will also further stimulate innovation in Scotland’s offshore wind sector, create additional supply chain opportunity, assist companies to enter the renewable energy market, and support net-zero ambitions. 

Among the major winners were Cerulean Winds, with agreements for three 1-GW TOG sites; and Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn, who together secured two TOG sites, of 1.35 GW and 560 MW. Other TOG winners included Harbour Energy, and TotalEnergies. IN winners include BlueFloat Energy, Simply Blue Group, BP and ESB.

The successful applicants have been offered initial agreements – called Exclusivity Agreements – that, if they accept the offers and proceed to sign them – enable them to start offshore wind development work while the Marine Scotland’s planning process for the INTOG Sectoral Marine Plan (INTOG SMP) is completed. Exclusivity Agreements will cover projects with a proposed capacity of up to 499 MW for IN and 5 GW for TOG.

If a successful proposed project is in the final INTOG SMP, an option agreement will be offered. Projects will then go through planning, consenting, and financing stages. Responsibility for these next steps does not sit with Crown Estate Scotland, and projects will only progress to a full seabed lease once all these various planning stages have been completed.    

13 projects out of a total of 19 applications - five for IN and eight for TOG - were offered Exclusivity Agreements. Once the INTOG SMP has been finalised and option agreements signed (expected 2024), around £262M in applicant fees will be secured. Once projects are operating, further revenues will be secured. All net revenues from Crown Estate Scotland go to Scottish Government for public spending. 

The area of seabed covered by the IN projects is just over 139 km2 and by the TOG projects 1,534 km2 (a maximum of 1,900 km2 was made available for TOG projects and 167 km2 for IN through the Scottish Government’s Initial Plan Framework.)  

Crown Estate Scotland will offer a seabed lease of 50 years for TOG projects and 25 years for IN projects. 

The details of the 13 applicants who have been offered Exclusivity Agreements can be found below.

INTOG contract awards were determined on a largely open-auction basis and were judged on a mixture of price and quality.  

To secure an option agreement, developers must provide a Supply Chain Development Statement. Information from the statements will then be published.