ScottishPower is actively pursuing future offshore wind projects in England and Scotland as part of its GBP 6 billion investment plan, to ensure one third of the UK’s electricity can be produced by wind by 2030.
The energy company said it plans to engage with The Crown Estate and The Crown Estate Scotland on seabed leasing rounds.
The announcement supports the Offshore Wind Sector Deal , which was unveiled by Energy Minister Claire Perry MP at ScottishPower’s construction and operations hub for its East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm in Lowestoft, the utility said.
“ScottishPower is proof that offshore wind works, we’ve worked tirelessly to bring down costs and, having transitioned to 100% renewable energy, will be building more windfarms to help the UK shift to a cleaner electric economy. Two of our offshore windfarms in East Anglia will replace ALL of the old thermal generation we’ve sold and we are ready to invest more by actively pursuing future offshore projects both north and south of the border,” ScottishPower Chief Executive, Keith Anderson , said.
Construction is already underway at the company’s GBP 2.5bn East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm, located 43km off the Suffolk coast. It will see 102 Siemens Gamesa turbines deployed each with a capacity of 7MW.
“We have a fantastic supply chain already in place in the UK, from businesses in and around East Anglia to across England, across Scotland as well as Northern Ireland. The Sector Deal will attract even more businesses in the UK to join the offshore wind supply chain and we are excited to see the transformative impact this will have on our projects,” Anderson said.
Planning consent has also been gained for its East Anglia THREE windfarm for up to 1,200MW and planning consultations on ScottishPower’s next two large offshore wind farms in the East Anglia zone have begun. If consents are granted, it is anticipated that East Anglia TWO will commence construction in 2024 and East Anglia ONE North will commence construction in 2025.
Around 3,000 construction jobs are being supported globally by the East Anglia projects and GBP 25million has been spent with suppliers based in East Anglia alone, ScottishPower said.