SSE Energy Markets has signed a long-term route-to-market power purchase agreement (PPA) with Inch Cape Offshore Limited, a joint venture between Red Rock Renewables and ESB, to offtake electricity from Scotland’s 1.1 GW Inch Cape offshore wind farm.
SSE Energy Markets will offtake 50 per cent of the offshore wind farm’s electricity output and associated environmental benefits for a period of at least 15 years.
This agreement provides Inch Cape with a reliable route to market for its clean electricity from early generation, said the developer. Full commercial operation is expected in 2027.
The offshore wind farm will comprise 72 Vestas 15 MW wind turbines installed in the North Sea off the Angus coast with a total installed capacity of 1,080 MW. The project’s financial close is set for later this year.
The XXL monopiles that will hold Vestas’ 15 MW wind turbines will be supplied by Chinese manufacturers Dajin Offshore Heavy Industry and CNOOD-Wenchong Heavy Industries (CWHI).
Construction on the project’s onshore substation is well underway in Cockenzie, East Lothian, with the offshore substation jacket and platform being manufactured at the Smulders’ yard in Wallsend, North East England.