The consortium behind the West of Orkney Windfarm, comprising Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG), has submitted offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers for the 2 GW offshore wind farm, making this the first ScotWind project to apply for consent.
The documentation includes applications under the Electricity Act 1989 and marine licence applications under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, and accompanying assessments based on survey data collected over two and a half years, including the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report that has been managed through Xodus Group.
The project will submit a separate planning application to The Highland Council for the onshore proposals.
The developer highlighted that the applications for offshore consent were filed only 20 months after being awarded the site in Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing round.
The offshore wind farm, planned to be built 30 kilometres west of the Orkney Mainland and 25 kilometres north of the Sutherland coast, will have up to 125 turbines and a generation capacity of around 2 GW.
In March 2022, the developer said both fixed-bottom and floating foundations were being considered for the wind turbines at the project site where water depths range from 45 metres to 100 metres.
The consortium, which said last year the final technology selection would be driven by a series of environmental, technical and commercial variables, now states the 125 turbines will be installed on fixed foundations.
The West of Orkney offshore wind farm, if approved, is expected to deliver first power in 2029.