West of Orkney Windfarm First ScotWind Project to Gain Full Consent

June 30, 2025, by Adnan Memija

The West of Orkney Windfarm, a joint venture between TotalEnergies, Corio Generation, and Renewables Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG), has been granted offshore consent by the Scottish government.

The decision makes the 2 GW West of Orkney Windfarm the first ScotWind project to secure both offshore and onshore planning permissions.

The wind farm will be built approximately 30 kilometres west of Orkney Mainland and 25 kilometres north of the Sutherland coast, with up to 125 turbines installed on fixed foundations.

In June 2024, the Highland Council approved in principle the project’s application for onshore planning permission, covering the underground cables and electrical infrastructure required to connect the wind farm to the national transmission network in Caithness.

Highland Council Greenlights West of Orkney Windfarm Onshore Plans

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In March 2025, the council indicated it would not raise any objection to the offshore planning application submitted to Scottish Ministers.

The developer has already instigated and supported various initiatives in the north of Scotland, including a GBP 1 million research and development programme being led by EMEC in Orkney, a GBP 900,000 education initiative led by UHI, and a GBP 125,000 Fit 4 Renewables scheme led by ORE Catapult.

“The West of Orkney Windfarm has the potential to deliver enough renewable electricity to power around two million homes. Its construction would spark significant investment in Scotland’s supply chain, port and harbour infrastructure, and the skilled jobs that would follow,” said Stuart McAuley, Project Director.

“Like many projects in Scotland and the UK, we and our investors are focused on working with government to achieve the certainty required on key regulatory areas such as transmission charging, electricity market reform and the rules for future CfD auction rounds. Gaining clarity on these points will be crucial for investors to fully understand the economic case for progressing into construction and operation.”