22 August 2022

Ocean Winds will develop 2 new floating offshore wind projects (2.3 GW) in Scotland

As part of the clearing round process for ScotWind leasing, Crown Estate Scotland awarded Ocean Winds, the 50-50 joint venture of ENGIE and EDPR dedicated to offshore wind, with two additional seabed leases for floating offshore wind projects: a 1.8 GW capacity site with partner Mainstream Renewable Power, and another 500 MW capacity site.

Ocean Winds (OW) was designated preferred bidder for seabed lease options for two adjacent sites reaching a total of 2.3 GW capacity. These projects are located in the East of the Shetland Islands, in depths that will require floating technology. As a pioneer for more than 10 years in floating projects such as WindFloat Atlantic in Portugal, OW is well placed to support the growth of the floating wind sector in Scotland.

The first project is a 1.8 GW site, that was awarded to a 50-50 JV partnership between Ocean Winds and Mainstream Renewable Power, located east of the Shetland Islands. The partners are committed to developing floating offshore wind on an industrial scale in Scotland, generating local jobs and opportunities in Scotland and the Shetland Islands. The site output is expected to power for the equivalent of over 2 million homes and save 3 million tons of carbon emissions each year.

The second project is a 500 MW site, also east of Shetland and within the NE1 ScotWind Draft Plan Option area. It enables OW to progress its ambition for commercial scale floating offshore wind projects worldwide.

Commenting on this announcement, Paulo ALMIRANTE, ENGIE’s Senior Executive Vice-President, in charge of Renewable, Energy Management and Nuclear Activities, said:

"This new success for Ocean Winds strengthening our position in Scotland is based on both OW’s ability to deliver major projects such as Moray East, the largest offshore wind farm in operations in the country, and its expertise in floating offshore wind technology for more than 10 years. We, at ENGIE, are very committed to support projects contributing to local and sustainable energy production, such as Scottish ones.”

In Scotland, OW is currently operating, building and developing three other offshore wind projects: Moray East (950 MW, in operations), Moray West (882 MW, late development) and Caledonia (awarded in January 2022, for a plant up to 2 GW). The award of two additional projects in the Shetland islands today means that OW has now a total portfolio of 6.1 GW in Scotland, and the projects portfolio of Ocean Winds up to 14.5 GW globally.