Simply Blue Energy and Subsea 7 have joined forces to develop a 200MW floating wind project, off the north-east coast of Scotland.
The companies have formed a joint venture partnership, where Subsea 7 has a minority interest, to develop a pre-commercial project.
The Salamander project, off Peterhead, will require a lease in due course from Crown Estate Scotland, under the innovation and oil and gas decarbonisation leasing activities referenced in the Offshore Wind Sectoral Marine Plan.
With Salamander, Simply Blue’s current pipeline of projects in the UK could potentially deliver up to 60% of the 1GW by 2030 floating wind target set by the UK government in 2020.
Simply Blue CEO Sam Roch-Perks said: “Scotland is one of the best locations on the planet for the development of floating wind projects.
“As a leading floating wind developer, we want to contribute to the development of this market. Despite best intentions, previous projects have not achieved the hoped-for regional supply chain benefits, but we believe that for the supply chain to capitalise on the opportunities from ScotWind, a stepping-stone project like Salamander is needed.”
John Evans, CEO of Subsea 7, added: “Subsea 7 has a long track record of successfully delivering offshore energy projects which positions us well to support Simply Blue Energy at this early stage of the Salamander project.
“We believe that floating wind has an important role to play in the wider energy transition and a low carbon future. We look forward to working with Simply Blue Energy on this exciting opportunity.”
Roch-Perks said the Salamander project has followed a different approach to selecting a foundation technology.
“We have studied the capabilities of the supply chain in Scotland and, after a thorough analysis, we are 2 focusing on a technology that we believe can, to a significant extent, be delivered locally. We are engaging with the supply chain to consolidate this research with great support coming from the DeepWind cluster.”
The Salamander project plans to use a floating platform concept that includes several innovations to allow this technology to be manufactured quickly with a high local content.
In addition, a low draft requirement for the foundation will enable approximately 50% more Scottish ports to be considered for marshalling and assembly than would otherwise be the case.
Paul O’Brien of DeepWind said: “It’s great to see two of our most active members, Simply Blue Energy and Subsea 7, team up to deliver a floating wind project of such scale in Scottish waters off Peterhead.”