Crown Estate Scotland has appointed global engineering and consultancy firm Arup as specialist reviewers for ScotWind, the new leasing round for offshore wind projects.
The two parties will work together to finalize the approach to evaluating applications from developers.
Arup will advise on the process by which developer applications are assessed and option agreements allocated to successful bidders and will be part of the team of reviewers which will evaluate individual applications together with Crown Estate Scotland.
“How we collaborate with our clients enabling the scale up and roll out of offshore wind is a significant opportunity for the Scottish and UK energy markets to innovate and progress towards deep decarbonisation of our energy system,” said Clare Lavelle , Energy Leader for Scotland and North East at Arup.
“Working with the Crown Estate Scotland on its first leasing round will have a significant impact on Scotland’s ability to become a net-zero emissions economy by 2045.”
As reported, Crown Estate Scotland plans to launch the ScotWind leasing after the publication of Marine Scotland’s draft Sectoral Marine Plan (SMP).
“We are committed to helping enable Scotland’s ambition to achieve a net-zero emissions target by 2045 through our role as manager of Scotland’s seabed,” said John Robertson , Head of Energy & Infrastructure at Crown Estate Scotland.
“ScotWind Leasing will provide certainty and clarity for those seeking to lease seabed for new offshore wind farms in Scottish Waters, encouraging low-carbon generation, and we look forward to working with Arup as we deliver a robust and transparent leasing process.”