ScottishPower and Shell have joined forces to bid in the ScotWind leasing round to develop large-scale floating offshore wind farms in the north-east of Scotland.
The partnership said it has submitted multiple proposals to Crown Estate Scotland for the leasing round, which closed for submissions on 16 July.
ScottishPower and Shell said together they provide the “right blend of skills and experience to successfully deliver these exciting projects”.
ScottishPower chief executive Keith Anderson said: “Scotland is the windiest country in Europe and has the biggest and most experienced offshore sector.
“Bringing ScottishPower and Shell’s collective knowledge, experience and expertise together means we’re perfectly placed to lead the way in developing large-scale offshore floating wind farms and creating a new green industry with massive potential for exporting our skills and experience globally and helping the UK decarbonise its energy generation.
“With just a few months until the COP26 UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, ScotWind will help create a whole new industry in floating wind that will play a crucial role in putting the country on course for a cleaner and greener future.”
Shell UK country chair David Bunch said: “If our bid is successful, Shell and SPR are fully committed to working with Scottish communities and businesses to help develop supply chains and expertise which could make Scotland a world leader in floating wind.
“At Shell we continue to grow our capacity to generate, trade and supply cleaner power to our customers and to play our part in powering the UK to net zero.”
Crown Estate Scotland is expected to announce the results of this round of ScotWind leasing in early 2022.