Ocean Winds, Mainstream Renewable Power and ESB have published supply chain development statements (SCDS) for sites won in the recent ScotWind clearing round process.
The statements, a requirement of the Crown Estate Scotland process, describe the estimated expenditure in products, materials, and labour required to develop, manufacture, construct, and operate the offshore wind projects off the east of Shetland.
Ocean Winds and Mainstream Renewable Power said they will seek to support the establishment of a globally competitive steel-based floating foundation fabrication and assembly facility in Scotland, with capability to roll columns up to 18m diameter, in their plans for their 1.8GW Arven project.
Manufacturing and fabrication for the project is likely to involve over £2bn of expenditure across the UK, of which over half will be in Scotland, while installation and the first six years of operation will require supply chain investment of almost £1.2bn.
Ocean Winds has meanwhile said it will commit up to £660m in manufacturing and fabrication for the separate 500MW site it won in the ScotWind clearing round. “Fabrication yards in Scotland will be used as the basis for delivery, enabling us to also evaluate the associated capital investment necessary to lower costs and meet product competitive pricing,” it added.
Elsewhere, ESB has confirmed its 500MW floater off Shetland – dubbed Sealtainn – will require around £2.2bn of supply chain commitments from development through to operation, of which £1.4bn will be made outside of the UK.
“Our ambition is to spend over £830m within the Scottish supply chain, with a firm commitment of over £330m”, ESB said.
However, it added that the majority of floating platform fabrication is likely to “occur abroad” when assumptions around the cost-competitiveness of Scottish yards and ports relative to other providers in Europe were factored into its modelling.
It said final assembly and commissioning of substructure components would however likely take place at a “regional base” with potential locations including Shetland or northeast Scotland.
The addition of three more ScotWind projects takes to 20 the total number of ScotWind projects which now have option agreements confirmed. Together these total up to 27.6GW of clean energy.
The latest figures, taking into account all 20 projects, now show initial Scottish commitments total £28.8bn, indicating an average investment in Scotland of £1.4bn per project built and £1bn per gigawatt of capacity built.
Colin Maciver, Head of Offshore Wind for Crown Estate Scotland, said: “This round of publications sets out further opportunities for a range of businesses to become involved in delivering the next generation of offshore wind farms in Scotland.
“The success of the sector is tied closely to the success of building the overall supply chain – that’s why it’s so crucial that information is provided as widely and as early as possible.”