The consortium comprising BayWa r.e., Elicio, and BW Ideol has submitted a planning application to Aberdeenshire Council for the onshore infrastructure required to connect the Buchan floating offshore wind farm to the electricity grid.
The application details the proposed onshore electrical infrastructure, which will connect the 1 GW Scottish floating wind project to the existing transmission network at Peterhead substation.
This includes a cable landfall on the Aberdeenshire coast at Rattray Head and an underground cable route that will extend approximately 20 kilometres south to the project substation on a site near the existing Peterhead Substation.
Earlier this year, the Buchan Offshore Wind consortium submitted offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers.
The floating offshore wind farm is planned to be built 75 kilometres northeast of Fraserburgh on the Aberdeenshire coast, with a connection date expected in 2033.
The project is proposed to have up to 70 wind turbines placed on top of BW Ideol’s Damping Pool floating foundations. BW Ideol is working actively to establish a manufacturing centre at the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility, being developed at the former oil and gas fabrication yard on the Moray Firth.
It is estimated that the development of the 1 GW Buchan floating wind farm would see more than GBP 900 million (around EUR 1 billion) invested in Scotland’s manufacturing sector and supply chain, with around 2,900 jobs in Scotland at the peak of construction and close to 300 ongoing jobs during operation, according to the consortium.