Offshore consent application submitted for Buchan floating windfarm

The submission includes applications for consent under the Electricity Act 1989 and marine licence applications under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Accompanying these is a suite of assessments based on survey data.

Buchan Offshore Wind says the floating offshore windfarm it hopes to build could spark significant investment in Scotland’s ports and bring long-term jobs to Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

The floating wind project is being developed by a joint venture comprising BayWa re in Germany, Elicio, a Belgian developer, owner and operator, and BW Ideol. The 1-GW floating offshore windfarm is 75 km to the northeast of Fraserburgh on the Aberdeenshire coast. It secured seabed development rights from Crown Estate Scotland as part of the ScotWind leasing process in 2022.

With an anticipated connection date of 2033, the project would have up to 70 turbines and offers the potential to power more than one million homes. Its development would see more than £900M (US$1.2Bn) invested in Scotland’s manufacturing sector and supply chain, with around 2,900 jobs in Scotland at the peak of construction and close to 300 ongoing jobs during operation.

The project has identified BW Ideol’s patented Damping Pool floating substructure as its preferred foundation option, with BW Ideol working actively to establish a manufacturing centre at the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility being developed at the former oil and gas fabrication yard on the Moray Firth. 

An operations base has yet to be selected, but the developer is actively engaging with a number of ports in the northeast of Scotland as it seeks to identify the most suitable location for its operations and maintenance hub.

Buchan project director Clare Lavelle said, “Our vision is to develop a floating offshore windfarm that will deliver large-scale manufacturing in Scotland, support thousands of new jobs, and drive progress towards the UK’s and Scotland’s offshore wind targets.

“We are committed to manufacturing our floating substructures in Scotland, which would drive a significant proportion of the project’s positive economic impacts.”