THE West of Orkney Windfarm has become the first ScotWind project to receive both offshore consent and onshore planning permission.
Scottish ministers granted offshore consent following a recommendation from the Marine Directorate Licensing Operations Team, allowing the £8 billion, two-gigawatt offshore wind project to move forward.
A partnership between Corio Generation, TotalEnergies, and the Renewables Infrastructure Development Group, the wind farm will be located around 30km west of Orkney Mainland and 25km north of the Sutherland coast.
It will feature up to 125 fixed-foundation turbines.
ScotWind, managed by Crown Estate Scotland, grants developers the rights to seabed sites to build large-scale offshore wind farms.
Project director Stuart Macauley welcomed the decision, stating: “We’d like to thank the Scottish Government, their officials, and all stakeholders and suppliers who have worked with us so proactively to make this happen.”
He also highlighted the need for greater clarity on regulatory issues such as transmission charges, electricity market reform, and the future of Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction rules.
“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.
“The UK Government has set out ambitious decarbonisation goals for 2030 and beyond, and our pioneering wind farm, backed by major international investors, can deliver jobs, inward investment and make a significant contribution to the energy transition in Scotland.”
Highland Council had already approved the project's onshore planning application in June 2024. This covers underground cabling and infrastructure needed to connect the wind farm to the national grid in Caithness.
In March, the council also confirmed it would not object to the offshore plans submitted to Scottish ministers.
The developers said they have launched several local initiatives, including:
- A £1m research and development programme led by EMEC in Orkney
- A £900,000 education initiative with the University of Highlands and Islands
- A £125k Fit 4 Renewables programme run by ORE Catapult
The offshore application included requests under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, alongside two-and-a-half years of environmental and technical assessments.
