Major ScotWind Offshore Auction Awards £700m in Contracts

Crown Estate Scotland has announced the outcome of its application process for ScotWind Leasing, the first Scottish offshore wind leasing round in over a decade and the first ever since the management of offshore wind rights were devolved to Scotland.

The public corporation of the Scottish Government, Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for the management of land and property in Scotland owned by the monarch in right of the Crown.

To many, the results coming just months after Glasgow hosted the global COP26 climate conference represent an opportunity for Scotland to transform its energy market and move towards a net zero economy.

Highlights include:

• 17 projects have been selected out of a total of 74 applications, and have now been offered option agreements which reserve the rights to specific areas of seabed
• A total of just under £700m will be paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the Scottish Government for public spending
• The area of seabed covered by the 17 projects is just over 7,000km2 (a maximum of 8,600km2 was made available through the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan)
• Initial indications suggest a multi-billion pound supply chain investment in Scotland
• The potential power generated will provide for the expanding electrification of the Scottish economy as we move to net zero.
• The details of the 17 applicants who have been offered option agreements can be found below and in the downloads section.

Simon Hodge, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland, said: “Today’s results are a fantastic vote of confidence in Scotland’s ability to transform our energy sector. Just a couple of months after hosting COP26, we’ve now taken a major step towards powering our future economy with renewable electricity.

“In addition to the environmental benefits, this also represents a major investment in the Scottish economy, with around £700m being delivered straight into the public finances and billions of pounds worth of supply chain commitments. The variety and scale of the projects that will progress onto 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.”