- Plan announced to maximise full opportunity of Ocean Winds’ Caledonia ScotWind site, targeting 2GW
- Bolsters Ocean Winds’ strong presence in Moray Firth, building on the Moray East and Moray West developments
- Caledonia lies in the “Goldilocks Zone” for offshore wind, allowing for fast and cost-effective deployment
Ocean Winds, one of Scotland’s leading offshore wind developers, has announced its plan to maximise the full opportunity of its Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm, targeting a capacity of 2GW.
Dedicated to the advancement of offshore wind energy, Ocean Winds (OW) was created as a 50-50 joint venture in 2020 by EDP Renewables and ENGIE. This announcement confirms its intent to maximise the developable area of Caledonia, a 429 km2 site won as part of the ScotWind leasing round.
Caledonia extends OW’s presence in the Moray Firth, building on the wealth of experience and data captured during the development, construction, and operation of OW’s Moray East and Moray West developments. This will provide a strong and trusted foundation for Caledonia, ensuring it is one of the fastest and most cost-effective projects to be delivered out of ScotWind.
Commenting, COO for Ocean Winds, Grzegorz Gorski said:
“With its proximity to Moray West and Moray East, Caledonia will consolidate Ocean Winds’ long-term commitment to the Moray Firth region and its vital new role as the nation’s secure and clean electricity supply. We will build on our knowledge of a technology that is not just proven but optimised and on the expertise acquired by our teams, to successfully deliver another wind farm in Scotland before the end of the decade.“
Commenting, Mark Baxter, Project Director for Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm said:
“The water is shallow enough to support fixed-foundations, the distance from shore is short enough to support AC instead of DC transmission, yet the wind resource is great enough to deliver high output and therefore low cost power. Caledonia lies in the “Goldilocks Zone” for offshore wind and will create valuable opportunities to boost local supply chains. We are excited to continue contributing to the delivery of national offshore wind targets.”
The Supply Chain commitments made by Caledonia Offshore Windfarm will be reflective of the planned 2GW target capacity.
Caledonia Offshore Windfarm will formally launch consultation on the project with the publication of its Offshore Scoping Report in Q3 of this year. A leading consultancy has been appointed to deliver the report, which will outline the windfarm development and the studies, and undertake the research and consultation for its Environmental Impact Assessment, a vital part of the planning application.
Mark continued: “The Scoping Report will enable the envelope of the project to be considered by the communities, organisations and individuals who are our neighbours in the Moray Firth. We look forward to discussing our proposals at the consultation events when we publish the report which is being drafted this summer.”
With Offshore Survey Campaigns due to start shortly, the Caledonia Project team is targeting a consent submission in 2024.
