[ad_1]
Highland Wind Limited continues its construction projects for the Pentland Offshore Floating Wind Farm (PFOWF), a 100 MW floating wind project off the coast of Scotland.
Highland Wind is majority owned by Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), through one of its Copenhagen Infrastructure (CI) funds.
When completed, the wind farm, located 6.5 kilometers off Dounreay in Caithness, will generate enough electricity to power around 70,000 homes, or around 64% of those in the Highland Council region.
Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP) manages PFOWF’s development activities on behalf of Highland Wind Limited. The development is planned in two stages. The first step is a single turbine demonstrator capable of generating 8.6 MW, scheduled for construction in 2023. The demonstrator is seen as the way forward to develop the largest Pentland floating grid project, as well as future ones. floating wind projects in Scotland.
The second stage is the larger grid project comprising up to ten turbines which will collectively be able to generate up to 100 MW. Construction of the network is expected to begin in 2025 and it will be operational in 2027. When completed, the network will be the largest of its kind in the world, the developer said.
While the exact floating technology solutions have yet to be decided, a key consideration is to build on the existing technical expertise in Scotland to maximize local supply chains.
“We believe in an inclusive approach to the development of our offshore wind projects, ensuring that businesses and local communities take advantage of the opportunities these projects offer. We are committed to giving Scotland’s supply chain the local content work needed to support job creation and build the country’s floating wind capacity and experience ”, Michel annibal, partner at CIP said:
The extreme conditions associated with the north coast of Scotland mean that the knowledge gained from the engineering and design work of the Pentland Project will be easily transferable to most other locations around the world.
The PFOWF project benefits from existing permits for demonstration granted by Marine Scotland, a lease from Crown Estate Scotland to test and demonstrate a floating project generating up to 100 MW – currently the only one in Scotland, and grid connection agreements existing.
To develop the project within the proposed timeframe, offshore environmental studies have been carried out to inform demand, a floating LiDAR buoy has been deployed on the site and a geophysical and geotechnical survey campaign is about to be completed.
This follows recent confirmation that CIP has entered the ScotWind process as part of a consortium with SSE Renewables and Marubeni Corporation.
Alain hannah, Managing Director of COP UK, said: “Floating offshore wind projects are essential for the UK to meet its net zero targets. This is an exciting floating project for Scotland ahead of ScotWind’s announcements early next year. Learnings and understandings from pre-commercial projects are essential to the rapid commercialization of floating wind in Scotland. “
COP recently opened its Global Floating Wind Competence Center in Edinburgh and, alongside industry, will develop the center to establish a Scottish expertise base in floating offshore wind that can be exported internationally.
According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), up to 19 GW of floating offshore wind capacity is expected to be installed worldwide by 2030. Floating wind has the potential to boost offshore wind resources tenfold, playing a further role. and more important in accelerating the energy transition. .
Source link
