Storm of submissions to ScotWind leasing round

Nearly two dozen companies have now confirmed they have submitted bids to the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round, which is offering seabed rights for up 10GW of offshore wind and closed to entries on Friday (16 July).

The consortia they have formed include most of Europe’s largest oil companies, with a significant proportion making proposals for floating offshore windfarms, either explicitly or implicitly.

Colin Palmer, director of marine for Crown Estate Scotland, said: “We really appreciate and acknowledge all the time, effort and investment that has gone into each and every application to ScotWind Leasing.

“We know that there is significant interest in Scotland’s ability to host major offshore wind projects, and our engagement with the sector throughout the development of ScotWind has been clear evidence of that.

“We’ll now look forward to the next stage in the journey, and beginning the work of assessing applications and, ultimately, awarding agreements that can help move some of these exciting potential projects closer to reality.”

Utility Week presents a round-up of the various announcements:

BP and EnBW

Oil giant BP has announced it has submitted a bid for 2.9GW of offshore wind generation as part of a consortium with German energy company EnBW.

The entry forms part of a planned £10 billion investment in clean energy in Scotland, which would also include green hydrogen production and the expansion of its electric vehicle charging network.

BP said it would make Aberdeen its “global offshore wind centre of excellence” and highlighted its agreement alongside EnBW to provide financial support for Forth Ports’ planned £40 million investment to create a renewables hub at the Port of Leith in Edinburgh.

Dev Sanyal, executive vice president for gas and low carbon at BP, said: “Through our bid we aim to do far more than only develop offshore wind – we believe it can help fuel Scotland’s wider energy transition.

“We want to harness the clean power from Scotland’s offshore wind and use our capabilities as an integrated energy company to accelerate the country’s EV charging network, build its hydrogen offering and strengthen its supporting infrastructure, including ports and harbours.

“This will all take the right skills and abilities,” he added. “The bid would build on Scotland’s deep experience in offshore oil and gas, equipping its workforce and supply chain with renewable capabilities, including creating apprenticeships, and supporting thousands of jobs.”

Georg Stamatelopoulos, chief operating officer for generation and trading at EnBW, said: “Our bid combines our established competence in offshore wind and BP’s leading North Sea experience. EnBW will bring its engineering know-how and track record as one of the leading offshore wind developers into the Scottish market.

“We are very keen to successfully further develop this project. Last year, we completed the largest German offshore wind project and are very confident in dealing with the complexity of this industry.”

Equinor

Norwegian state-owned oil company Equinor said it had entered a bid for floating offshore wind as it seeks to develop an “offshore wind cluster” in the North Sea.

The company operates Hywind Scotland – the world’s largest floating windfarm, consisting of five 6MW turbines.

“Equinor has the experience and capabilities necessary to develop the next full-scale floating offshore wind farm in Scotland following Hywind Scotland,” said Jens Okland, the company’s senior vice president for business development in renewables.

“By leveraging our offshore execution capabilities and our leading position in floating offshore wind, we are ready to create more long-term value and drive the industrialisation of floating offshore wind further.”

RWE

RWE confirmed its participation in ScotWind, whilst noting it is “rapidly developing” its floating wind capabilities.

Tom Glover, UK country chair for RWE, said: “The ScotWind process is a critical step for Scottish government in delivering its ambitious target of 11GW of offshore wind by 2030. As a long-standing partner and investor in the Scottish renewables industry, RWE is pleased to be able to support this through our participation.”

SSE, Marubeni Corporation and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

SSE Renewables said it had submitted bids in partnership with the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation and the Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

“This the culmination of a huge amount of hard work from our team and we believe our bids demonstrate the local experience, technology and sustainability leadership, and global expertise that our partnership brings,” said Paul Cooley director of capital projects at SSE Renewables.

Scottish Power and Shell

Scottish Power and the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell revealed last week that they have joined forces to build the world’s first large-scale floating windfarm, submitting “multiple proposals” to ScotWind.

Scottish Power chief executive Keith Anderson said: “Scotland is the windiest country in Europe and has the biggest and most experienced offshore sector.

“Bringing Scottish Power and Shell’s collective knowledge, experience and expertise together means we’re perfectly placed to lead the way in developing large-scale offshore floating windfarms and creating a new green industry with massive potential for exporting our skills and experience globally and helping the UK decarbonise its energy generation.”

Ocean Winds and Aker Offshore Wind

Ocean Winds – a 50:50 joint venture between Engie and EDP Renewables – said it had teamed up with Aker Offshore Wind to enter a bid for floating offshore wind. The partners own a majority stake in Principle Power, which is providing the foundations for the 50MW Kincardine floating windfarm currently under construction in Scotland.

Dan Finch, managing director of Ocean Winds UK, said: “Our vision is for Scotland to become the undisputed global leader in floating offshore wind. We are dedicated to work with all stakeholders to achieve this, to create high-skilled jobs in Scotland, and to generate exportable technology innovation.”

Eni and Red Rock Power

Italian oil company Eni announced at the beginning of last week it had formed a 50:50 joint venture with Scottish offshore wind developer Red Rock Power and partnered with Transmission Investment to submit a bid to ScotWind.

Alessandro Della Zoppa, head of renewables at Eni Gas & Luce, said: “We are confident that this collaboration will support Eni’s ambition to achieve its renewables targets, as well as contributing to the development of Scotland’s role in the decarbonisation of the North Sea.

“The success of ScotWind will be crucial for developing the local industry in this sector and for positioning new technologies in a growing global market.”

Orsted, Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy

Earlier this month, Danish energy company Orsted announced it had partnered with Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy to apply for seabed rights for sites that “lend themselves to the deployment of large-scale floating wind technology”.

Duncan Clark, head of the UK region for Orsted said: “We have seen the positive, transformative impact of Orsted’s offshore wind farms in providing clean, cheap energy for homes and businesses; investing in our supply chain and opening access to opportunities across the globe; and creating new jobs and skills that leave a lasting legacy in communities across the country. This success is something we are very keen to replicate in Scotland.”

Back in January, Orsted revealed it had already secured grid connections for 1.8GW of offshore wind in preparation for ScotWind.

Total Energies, Green Investment Group and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group

Total Energies, the recently rebranded French oil and gas company, announced in June it was working with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group to submit bids for ScotWind.

Ed Northam, head of GIG Europe, said: “The addition of Total Energies to our bidding consortium brings together a team who have a long track record in delivering major infrastructure projects in challenging environments – a key requirement given the growing scale and complexity of the next generation of fixed bottom and floating offshore wind farm projects.”

Vattenfall and Fred Olsen Renewables

Vattenfall revealed last month it had formed a 50:50 joint venture with Fred Olsen Renewables to bid for leasing rights.

Helene Bistrom, head of business area wind at Vattenfall, said: “This joint venture brings together two companies with strong track records in Scotland. We fundamentally understand the importance of developing projects which benefit the local economy and environment while ensuring the best possible value for bill payers.

“Vattenfall’s goal is to enable fossil-free living within one generation, and we are very excited to be working with Fred Olsen Renewables to bring the best of our experience together to create a strong offer for Scotland.”

TechnipFMC and Magnora

TechnipFMC and Magnora confirmed they have submitted two bids to ScotWind after forming a joint venture to develop floating offshore wind earlier this year.

Torstein Sanness, executive chairman of Magnora, said: “Coupled with TechnipFMC’s project management expertise and extensive service and technology portfolio, we believe we can provide a market-leading floating offshore wind offering.”

BayWa R.E., Elicio and BW Ideol

BayWa R.E. announced in July last year it had joined a consortium with Elicio and Ideol to submit bids for ScotWind.

Paul de la Gueriviere, chief executive of Ideol (since renamed BW Ideol), said at the time: “With this consortium, we bring together a unique array of corporate and individual capability; we believe that our respective track-records and experience of project delivery in offshore wind, wind project development in Scotland and locally constructible floating wind expertise render our joint efforts particularly credible and we are confident we can demonstrate clear and significant positive local economic impacts.”