SSE’s £2.6bn Beatrice offshore windfarm gets green light

SSE has announced that construction of the £2.6 billion Beatrice offshore windfarm in Moray Firth will begin this year after the 84-turbine project reached financial close.

The Beatrice offshore windfarm project – which is owned by SSE (40 per cent), Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) (35 per cent) and SDIC Power (25 per cent) – will be one of the largest private investments ever made in Scottish infrastructure.

The farm will provide 588MW of power and is expected to become fully operational in 2019.

SSE director of renewables Paul Cooley said: “We are delighted that Beatrice has achieved financial close and we are extremely grateful for all of the support received throughout the development of the project from stakeholders such as the Scottish government, Decc, HIE, the Highland Council, Moray Council and local communities.

Beatrice is expected to bring numerous socio-economic benefits to the economy during both the construction and operational phases as well as delivering around £680 million into the UK and Scottish economy via employment and supply chain opportunities during the construction phase and between £400 million and £525 million during the wind farm’s 25-year operational life.

Energy secretary Amber Rudd said: “This project will provide home-grown clean energy boosting skills and creating jobs and financial security for working people and their families in Scotland, and across the UK.”

Scottish energy minister Paul Wheelhouse added that Scotland was on course to meet its interim renewables target and Renewable UK welcomed the project which chief executive Hugh McNeal said was “terrific”.

The UK now has more than 10GW of offshore wind capacity operating, under construction or with final investment decisions taken, according to Renewable UK.