New wind farms could be Scotland's biggest ever

SSE Renewables is seeking consent for two massive new offshore wind farms off the coast of Scotland.

Headquartered in Perth, SSE has been part of the sector from the earliest demonstration projects. It already has Scotland’s biggest offshore wind portfolio, part of a 4GW portfolio of offshore and onshore wind and hydropower projects throughout the UK and Ireland.

SSE developed, built, and operates Beatrice, Scotland’s current biggest offshore wind farm, and is part of a joint venture leading the construction of the even larger 1.1GW Seagreen project and the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which will be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm at 3.6 GW.

The company faced a setback recently when it failed to win any contracts in the Crown Estate’s recent ScotWind leasing round 4, despite teaming up with Japan’s Marubeni Offshore Wind Development Corporation and Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. However, it’s still seeking consent for the two huge new projects in the North Sea.

Berwick Bank and Marr Bank, in the outer Firth of Forth, could potentially deliver 4.1GW between the two and eclipse Seagreen as Scotland’s largest wind farms. The projects would be sited next to each other about 40km off the East Lothian coast. Seagreen, which has already received consent and is under construction, is further north, 27km off the coast of Angus.

If the Berwick Bank and Marr Bank projects have consented, they will cost billions of pounds to construct but will bring significant benefits to the Scottish economy. SSE plans to use as many Scottish and British suppliers as possible.

Berwick Bank and Marr Bank in numbers:

• Berwick Bank’s capacity could be up to 2300GW and Marr Bank’s 1,850GW, making them one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects.

• The 242-turbine Berwick Bank could power 3.5 million homes.

• The Scottish Government has recently announced a goal of delivering 11GW of offshore wind by 2030. These projects would make a massive contribution to this and to Scotland’s ambitious net-zero goal of 2045.

• Berwick Bank could be shovel-ready in 2024 and generating green power by 2027.

• Berwick Bank would cut 4 million tonnes of carbon a year – about two-thirds of Scotland’s annual vehicle emissions.