ScotWind Leasing raises GBP700 million in offshore wind seabed option fees

Just under GBP700 million ($958 million) of option fees are to be paid by successful applicants in Crown Estate Scotland's ScotWind Leasing offshore wind competition, the Crown Estate announced Jan. 17.

Some 17 projects totaling a potential 24.83 GW of capacity have been offered option agreements reserving the rights to specific areas of seabed, with Iberdrola, BP, Shell, SSE, TotalEnergies, DEME and Northland Power all major winners with both fixed and floating wind applications (see table).

"The variety and scale of the projects that will progress on to the next stages shows both the remarkable progress of the offshore wind sector, and a clear sign that Scotland is set to be a major hub for the further development of this technology in the years to come," said Simon Hodge, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland.

Should any application not progress to signing a full agreement, the next highest scoring application would be offered an option, Crown Estate Scotland said.

Once agreements are signed the details of supply chain commitments made by applicants would be published, it said.

"This is just the first stage of the long process these projects will have to go through before we see turbines going into the water, as the projects evolve through consenting, financing, and planning stages," it said.

It is anticipated the first projects could be operational around 2030.

SCOTWIND LEASING: SUCCESSFUL SEABED APPLICANTS

Source: Crown Estate Scotland