Equinor has confirmed it has bid to develop a floating offshore wind farm in the ScotWind leasing round organised by Crown Estate Scotland, while a joint venture of BP and EnBW has bid for up to 2900MW.
The ScotWind leasing round is a good strategic fit with its ambitions to continue to develop its North Sea offshore wind cluster and further deepen its presence across the UK, the Norwegian energy company said.
BP and EnBW said their bid goes beyond developing wind and aims to accelerate Scotland’s energy transition.
They said the bid would bring huge investments into ports, harbours and shipyards, as well as boost net zero industries, such as green hydrogen.
BP said it would also make Aberdeen an global offshore wind centre of excellence.
Equinor senior vice president for business development in Renewables Jens Okland said: “Equinor has the experience and capabilities necessary to develop the next full-scale floating offshore wind farm in Scotland following Hywind Scotland.
“By leveraging our offshore execution capabilities and our leading position in floating offshore wind, we are ready to create more long-term value and drive the industrialisation of floating offshore wind further.
“We see floating wind as an enabler for the Scottish government to achieve its offshore wind targets and help reach its ambitious net zero target of 2045.”
The company said that as operator of Hywind Scotland (pictured), the world’s first floating offshore wind farm located near Peterhead, it knows the potential that lies in developing offshore wind off the Scottish coast.
Also at Peterhead, Equinor together with its partner, SSE Thermal, plans to jointly develop a new low-carbon power station, which could become one of the UK’s first power stations equipped with carbon capture technology.
The Peterhead CCS Power Station would propel the UK’s ambitions for carbon capture in power generation, meeting 15% of the UK government’s 10 million tonne target for carbon captured by 2030.