Cerulean Winds and Flotation Energy have emerged as the biggest winners from the Crown Estate Scotland INTOG leasing round.
In total, 13 lease options totalling 5.5GW have been awarded from 19 bids, with £261.8m of fees pledged by developers.
Cerulean has secured lease options for three 1GW sites under the Targeted Oil & Gas (TOG) stream of the development rights round, pledging options fees of over £130m.
Flotation bagged two sites, also under TOG, for 1350MW and 560MW.
Harbour Energy won with two 15MW bids while TotalEnergies secured a 3MW project, completing the TOG winners.
In the Innovation part of the tender, the Bluefloat and Renantis partnership secured two 99MW sites.
Irish developers Simply Blue and ESB both secured 100MW sites, while BP landed a 50MW project.
The INTOG process allowed developers to apply for seabed rights to develop offshore wind projects that either reduce emissions from the North Sea oil and gas sector – by supplying renewable electricity directly to oil and gas infrastructure – or consist of small-scale innovative projects of 100MW or less.
The successful applicants have now been offered initial agreements – called Exclusivity Agreements – that, if they accept the offers and proceed to sign them, enable them to start offshore wind development work while the Marine Scotland’s planning process for INTOG is completed.
Colin Palmer, Director of Marine at Crown Estate Scotland, said: “Today’s results for this very distinctive and targeted leasing round are extremely encouraging. INTOG provides a range of practical ways to support innovation, reduce North Sea carbon emissions, and encourage technical and commercial innovation in the offshore renewables market.
“In addition to delivering economic and environmental benefits, INTOG will generate funds for the Scottish Government, from initial fees when option agreements are signed, to ongoing rent payments when the projects are constructed and move to operation. There are still significant challenges that need to be addressed to ensure INTOG’s many opportunities are realised fully, but today marks a real step forward.”
Michael Matheson, Net Zero & Energy Secretary, said: “This milestone in the INTOG leasing round is the next step in realising another world leading opportunity for Scotland’s energy transition: helping both decarbonise our existing oil and gas operations while helping our offshore wind sector to expand, innovate and deliver on our ambition to be a renewables powerhouse.
“The announcement from Crown Estate Scotland not only indicates that the INTOG initiative will provide a significant contribution to the public purse but ensure the continuing growth and development of Scotland’s offshore expertise and wider supply chain, supporting a true just transition for our energy sector.”
INTOG contract awards were determined on a largely open-auction basis and were judged on a mixture of price and quality.
Option agreements are expected to be offered in 2024. To secure an option agreement, developers must provide a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS). Information from these Statements will then be published.