SSE Renewables has joined forces with Japanese company Marubeni Corporation and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to work together on joint bids for the 10GW ScotWind offshore wind leasing process managed by Crown Estate Scotland.
Marubeni brings sector experience and is currently leading a consortium to build Japan’s first commercial scale offshore wind projects at Akita Port and Noshiro Port in Akita Prefecture, said SSE.
The Japanese company is also participating in two floating offshore wind demonstration projects in Japan.
These are the Fukushima Forward project, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and a demonstration of a next-generation floating turbine sponsored by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation.
CIP has experience of delivering offshore wind with interests in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia and has a global offshore wind pipeline of over 10GW.
CIP has already worked with SSE Renewables on the 588MW Beatrice project (pictured) in Scotland.
SSE Renewables director of capital projects Paul Cooley said: “We are excited to bring together the combined strengths of each of the partner organisations.
“With a leading track record in developing, building and operating large-scale renewable projects in Scotland, SSE Renewables brings significant national and local experience.
“We will seek to maximise the opportunities that are available to the local supply chain to take part in these future projects and will continue to actively engage through the Scottish supply chain clusters.”
Marubeni Offshore Wind Development Corporation president and chief executive Hisafumi Manabe said: “The global expertise that Marubeni and CIP bring to the table is important not only in fixed foundation offshore wind deployment but also in the development of critical new floating technology.
“We believe that ScotWind will play a pivotal role in delivering the new Scottish offshore wind target of 11GW by 2030 on the pathway to net zero bringing a wealth of economic benefits along the way.”
CIP partner Michael Hannibal said: “We were pleased to see the Scottish government confirm the final Sectoral Marine Plan to give developers certainty on the potential option areas in ScotWind and look forward to finalising our bids in the coming months.
“We have a combined offshore wind portfolio of around 5GW in Scotland and over 20GW globally and we have our sights set on increasing this through the ScotWind process.”