Scotland’s TWP Progresses With Its 1 GW Offshore Floating Wind Project

Scotland's TWP Progresses With Its 1 GW Offshore Floating Wind Project

Scotland-based renewable energy company Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) has submitted the onshore scoping report for its Ayre floating offshore wind project which is among the two of its ScotWind projects. According to the press release by the company, the 1 GW Ayre Offshore Wind Plant is planned to be located at the east of Orkney in Scotland and will be connected to the grid in Caithness with a landfall point at the Sinclair’s Bay. Underground cables will be used to connect the project.

The onshore scoping report for the Ayre project is regarding the required onshore planning permission for the project. The report outlines the onshore infrastructure needed for the project and the approach to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which will support the submission for Planning Permission in Principle, targeted for early 2025.

The scoping report usually describes the main challenge or issue that is being addressed, reviews key insights and influences on the audience’s behaviour, identify available resources and assets and outlines what intervention options might lead to the desired behavior.

Ian Taylor, project director at TWP, said, “Despite the projects facing a series of challenges over the course of 2023, they remain on track. We have navigated a way through these difficult times in the offshore wind sector thanks to active collaboration with the group of ScotWind developers and government agencies”.

 “The way we have pulled together in 2023 is breaking new ground for the energy sector and gives us great confidence in the future,” he added.

Apart from Ayre project, TWP, a joint venture between renewable energy companies DEME, Qair and Apiravi, also has the 1 GW Bowdun Offshore Wind project off the coast of Aberdeenshire in Scotland which is expected to submit its offshore and onshore scoping reports in 2024.

According to media reports, currently, Scotland has 8.8GW of onshore wind capacity and 2.1GW of offshore wind. Scottish Government’s Offshore Wind Policy Statement  that was published in October 2020, set out an ambition to achieve 8-11 GW of offshore wind in Scottish waters by 2030.