Flotation Energy, Vårgrønn Seal Exclusivity Agreements for 1.9 GW Scottish Floaters

Outlook & Strategy

November 2, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Plenitude (Eni) and HitecVision, and Flotation Energy have signed exclusivity agreements for two floating offshore wind developments under Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.

Once completed, the Green Volt and Cenos floating offshore wind farms, with up to a total of 1.9 GW capacity, will provide renewable electricity to oil and gas platforms, aiming to reduce carbon emissions from the assets they supply.

In addition, Green Volt and Cenos projects will also provide electricity to the UK grid.

“Participating oil and gas platforms will have electricity, currently generated by gas and diesel turbines, replaced by renewable energy. The windfarms will also deliver up to 7TWh of power back to the UK grid each year – the equivalent of providing affordable, renewable electricity for more than 2.4 million UK homes,” said Nicol Stephen, CEO of Flotation Energy.

“Overall, the Green Volt and Cenos projects are estimated to save around 3 million tonnes of carbon each year. This will play a crucial role in achieving Scotland’s 2045 Net Zero target and delivering The North Sea Transition Deal’s goal to halve offshore emissions by 2030.”

Earlier this year, Vårgrønn and Flotation Energy secured a lease in the Scottish INTOG round.

Located in the Central North Sea, Cenos floating offshore wind project area will cover approximately 333 square kilometres.

According to information on the project’s website, the 1.4 GW wind farm will consist of 70-100 floating turbines, each with a capacity of between 14 MW and 20 MW.

When it comes to Green Volt, the floating offshore wind project is located 80 kilometres east, offshore from Peterhead, and will use up to 35 floating wind turbines to deliver 500 MW of renewable energy.

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According to the developers, Green Volt and Cenos are also designed to accelerate the delivery of renewable energy to the UK, while also kickstarting the development of a local supply chain for floating offshore wind, centred around the North Sea.

Combined, the two projects are estimated to create over 8,000 jobs during construction as well as several hundred jobs during the operational phase, delivering around GBP 6 billion of gross value added (GVA), said the partners.

“Our analysis shows that floating wind will provide more than half of the UK’s offshore wind generation by 2050, bringing over £43 billion in economic value and more than 29,000 jobs,” said Laurie Heyworth, RenewableUK’s Senior Policy Analyst on Emerging Technologies.

“It will play a critical role in regenerating coastal communities in particular, with £4 billion of public and private investment needed to transform up to eleven ports across the UK into industrial hubs for mass roll-out of floating wind by the end of the decade.”