Orsted has acquired a majority stake in the 100MW Salamander floating offshore wind development project on the Scottish coast, a JV partnership with Simply Blue Group.
Under the agreement, Orsted will own an 80% stake in the project as Simply Blue Group’s newest JV partner on the project, alongside minority JV partner Subsea 7.
Salamander is intended to be progressed through the innovation track of Crown Estate Scotland’s forthcoming Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round later this year.
Established by Simply Blue Group, the project is designed as a stepping stone for floating wind technology, providing an opportunity for supply chain businesses to gear up for commercial scale floating wind opportunities and help the technology become cost competitive as early as possible.
The Salamander project follows on from other such projects Simply Blue Group is developing with major energy operators around Ireland and in Wales.
Orsted group deputy chief executive and chief commercial officer Martin Neubert said: “I’m pleased that we have agreed with Simply Blue to become a partner on this promising project which further expands Orsted’s engagement in floating offshore wind and will provide a lot of learnings that we can apply on ScotWind and other floating wind projects as the technology transitions from demo projects to utility scale.
“Orsted has been driving the commercialisation of bottom-fixed offshore wind for 30 years, and during the next decade we want to help make floating offshore wind similarly successful through projects such as this one.”
Simply Blue Group chief executive Sam Roch-Perks added: “We are delighted that Orsted is joining with Simply Blue Group and Subsea 7 to develop the Salamander project.
“Orsted is a leading player in renewable energy and brings considerable expertise to the prestigious Salamander project.
“As a leading floating wind developer, Simply Blue Group wants to contribute to the development of the Scottish offshore wind market and its supply chain.
“Scotland is one of the best locations on the planet for the development of floating wind projects and we look forward to the collaboration with Orsted on this exciting and important project.”