Released January 14, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Developers behind the largest planned floating offshore windfarm in Europe have submitted two key consent applications to the Scottish Government and Aberdeenshire Council.
The "Muir Mhòr" (Great Sea) project, which will be located in deep waters more than 60 kilometers (km) from Peterhead in the North Sea will have a generation capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) and be capable of supplying more than 1.2 million people with power from its 67 turbines. The project is expected to cost up to US$4 billion and is a 50:50 joint project between Fred Olsen Renewables (Oslo, Norway) and Sweden's energy major, Vattenfall (Stockholm). It was the first fully floating offshore windfarm to be picked in the government's ScotWind offshore leasing round in early 2022. More than 20 offshore projects were awarded leases with a combined capacity of almost 30 GW. Floating offshore projects accounted for more than half.
The Muir Mhòr developers have submitted both offshore and onshore consent applications for determination, following a 12-month period of consultation with local communities and stakeholders most impacted by the development. A decision is expected later this year, and assuming a successful financial investment decision, work on the project will kick off in 2029, with commissioning in 2032. Industrial Info is tracking 20 floating offshore windfarm projects in U.K. waters with a combined investment value of more than US$50 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports. Today, the largest operational floating offshore windfarm is Equinor's (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger, Norway) Hywind Tampen in the North Sea. With a total capacity of 88 megawatts (MW) it has been designed to supply around 35% of the annual power needs for five of the company's oil platforms: Snorre A and B, and Gullfaks A, B and C. The turbines are located about 140 kilometers off the Norwegian coast in deep waters with an average depth of 260-300 meters.
"We are the first fully floating offshore wind farm from the 2022 ScotWind leasing round to reach the point of both offshore and onshore applications," commented David Hinshelwood, project director for Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm. "In doing so, we are supporting the ambitions of governments in Scotland and the U.K. to be a world leader in floating offshore wind, and a clean energy superpower. Muir Mhòr is on its way to becoming one of the world's first commercial scale floating offshore wind projects. We are very excited to see what the future holds."
He added: "The submission of our two consent applications is a hugely significant milestone, not just for our team who have worked so hard to get here, but for Scotland and the rest of the U.K. as well. We have listened closely to those impacted by our development and made adjustments to our applications, taking on board their feedback and the sensitivities they have raised, and trust this is reflected in the planning determinations."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The "Muir Mhòr" (Great Sea) project, which will be located in deep waters more than 60 kilometers (km) from Peterhead in the North Sea will have a generation capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) and be capable of supplying more than 1.2 million people with power from its 67 turbines. The project is expected to cost up to US$4 billion and is a 50:50 joint project between Fred Olsen Renewables (Oslo, Norway) and Sweden's energy major, Vattenfall (Stockholm). It was the first fully floating offshore windfarm to be picked in the government's ScotWind offshore leasing round in early 2022. More than 20 offshore projects were awarded leases with a combined capacity of almost 30 GW. Floating offshore projects accounted for more than half.
The Muir Mhòr developers have submitted both offshore and onshore consent applications for determination, following a 12-month period of consultation with local communities and stakeholders most impacted by the development. A decision is expected later this year, and assuming a successful financial investment decision, work on the project will kick off in 2029, with commissioning in 2032. Industrial Info is tracking 20 floating offshore windfarm projects in U.K. waters with a combined investment value of more than US$50 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports. Today, the largest operational floating offshore windfarm is Equinor's (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger, Norway) Hywind Tampen in the North Sea. With a total capacity of 88 megawatts (MW) it has been designed to supply around 35% of the annual power needs for five of the company's oil platforms: Snorre A and B, and Gullfaks A, B and C. The turbines are located about 140 kilometers off the Norwegian coast in deep waters with an average depth of 260-300 meters.
"We are the first fully floating offshore wind farm from the 2022 ScotWind leasing round to reach the point of both offshore and onshore applications," commented David Hinshelwood, project director for Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm. "In doing so, we are supporting the ambitions of governments in Scotland and the U.K. to be a world leader in floating offshore wind, and a clean energy superpower. Muir Mhòr is on its way to becoming one of the world's first commercial scale floating offshore wind projects. We are very excited to see what the future holds."
He added: "The submission of our two consent applications is a hugely significant milestone, not just for our team who have worked so hard to get here, but for Scotland and the rest of the U.K. as well. We have listened closely to those impacted by our development and made adjustments to our applications, taking on board their feedback and the sensitivities they have raised, and trust this is reflected in the planning determinations."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
