Flotation Energy and Vargronn have taken the wraps off the 1400MW Cenos floating wind project off Scotland.
The partners have filed a scoping report to Marine Scotland for the scheme, which would power nearby oil and gas platforms as well as the UK grid.
The scoping report presents in detail the nature and purpose of the project and its possible effects on the environment, marking the first step of the project’s consenting process.
Located 200km offshore in the UK Central North Sea, the Cenos floating offshore wind farm is on track to deliver first power in 2028, according to the developers.
The timeline is dependent on securing a lease in the Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round. The Crown Estate is expected to announce awards in Q2 this year.
Flotation chief executive Nicol Stephen said: “Submission of the Cenos scoping report keeps us on track to deliver renewable power to many of the oil and gas platforms in the central North Sea as early as 2028.
“Cenos will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s net zero target, removing two million tonnes of carbon from our energy system each year. The scale of the project is huge. It will deliver billions of pounds of new infrastructure investment and help create thousands of local jobs, helping to make the energy transition a reality.”
Vargronn boss Olav Hetland aadded: “Across Europe, we are seeing a race to scale floating windfarms and Cenos is ready to be a frontrunner in delivering commercial-scale floating wind power.
“Our project is designed to deliver first power as soon as possible to help meet the decarbonisation goals of the UK oil and gas sector while simultaneously kick-starting the development of a world-leading local supply chain for floating offshore wind centred on the North Sea.”