EDF buys Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind project in Scotland

EDF Renewables has bought the controversial Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind project in Scotland from developer Mainstream Renewable Power following a competitive bidding process.

The 450MW wind farm off the coast of Fife is expected to be commissioned in 2023.

Neart na Gaoithe – Gaelic for “Strength of the Wind” – secured a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) in the first competitive auction in 2015 at a strike price of £114.39 (2012 prices). The total price tag for the project is £1.8 billion.

EDF Renewables is a joint subsidiary of EDF Energy and EDF Energies Nouvelles –  both part of the EDF Group. In line with the group’s usual practice, EDF Renewables said it plans to bring in other investors in “due course”.

Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group senior executive president for renewable energy and chief executive of EDF Energies Nouvelles, said: “This large-scale new offshore project demonstrates our strong ambition in being a leading global player in the offshore wind industry.

“It confirms EDF Group’s wider commitment to renewables in countries where EDF already has a strong footprint such as the United Kingdom.”

EDF Energy chief executive Simone Rossi said: “This is evidence of our continuing investment and growth in Scotland, where we are the largest generator of low-carbon energy.”

Neart na Gaoithe was granted planning permission by Scottish ministers in October 2014, along with three other offshore wind projects in the firths of Forth and Tay – Inch Cape, Seagreen Alpha and Seagreen Bravo.

However, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) launched a judicial review against the decision with Scotland’s Court of Session in January 2015, arguing the ministers had failed properly consider the impact on local wildlife. The court ruled in favour of the charity in July 2016.

The ministers appealed against the decision and in May 2017 it was overturned by the same court. In August the RSPB sought a further appeal in the Supreme Court but was denied the request in November.

The long-running legal battle led the to the temporary loss of subsidies for the wind farm.

In March 2016, the Low Carbon Contracts Company withdrew its CfD after Mainstream Renewable Power missed the deadline for financial close. The firm launched a dispute and the following March an arbitration tribunal ruled that the contract should be reinstated.

The original plans for the wind farm featured 125 turbines but advances in turbine technology, which have grown larger over time, have enabled Mainstream Renewable Power to reduce the number, first to 64 and later to 54. The developer submitted a fresh planning application in March incorporating the larger turbines into the design.