Cerulean Winds has signed three floating wind exclusivity agreements as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.
These agreements pave the way for the creation of the North Sea Renewables Grid, a basin-wide green power generation and transmission system that will supply energy to oil and gas assets.
At the same time the multi-billion pound project will provide early opportunities to the domestic floating wind supply chain.
Cerulean is already in the process of putting the necessary contracts in place to deliver the North Sea Renewables Grid, and the project is progressing through the development phase.
Co-founder and director of Cerulean Winds Dan Jackson said: “This is a huge milestone in the creation of the North Sea Renewables Grid and we are incredibly grateful to Crown Estate Scotland for their support as we move to the next phase in delivering floating wind at an unprecedented scale in the UK.
“FEED work will begin in earnest with our Tier 1 delivery consortium setting up the packages of supply chain contracts in 2024 that will allow us to build out this development.
“To support this, we are also investing in new Scottish offices and in advanced talks with local ports and yards.
“The oil and gas industry is required for UK energy security for years to come but must fulfil its decarbonisation commitments.
“The North Sea Renewables Grid will be a vital cog in achieving that, while also setting the pace for other floating wind farms to follow.”
Independent analysis has shown that Aspen, Beech and Cedar – the three sites forming the North Sea Renewables Grid – are expected to deliver over £10bn combined in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the UK.
Across the development, construction, operational and maintenance phases the project is expected to create over 5000 jobs in Scotland, with first power being targeted for 2028.
Crown Estate Scotland’s INTOG round, the results of which were announced in March, was split into two halves – one for larger projects linked to oil and gas infrastructure and one for smaller scale innovation initiatives.