Scotland Launches $10 Billion Contest to Build Offshore Wind Farms

Photo: Tilman Ehrcke / Shutterstock

By William Mathis (Bloomberg) –Scotland, home to a quarter of Europe’s offshore wind resources, is seeking proposals to install turbines off the coast in a process that may draw more than 8 billion pounds ($10.2 billion) of investment.

The ScotWind Leasing program may eventually lead to offshore wind farms with enough capacity to power every Scottish household, according to a statement Wednesday from Crown Estate Scotland.

With competition increasing in one of the fastest-growing sectors of renewable energy, the process could attract bids from established players as well as oil majors looking at offshore wind as a way to diversify.

“Offshore wind is currently one of the cheapest forms of new electricity generation and Scotland is perfectly poised to host major new projects,” John Robertson, Crown Estate Scotland’s head of energy & infrastructure, said in the statement.

The seabed leasing process from Crown Estate Scotland follows a similar process by the equivalent authority in England and Wales, expected to attract 20 billion pounds in investment. Crown Estate Scotland manages land and property on behalf of Scottish Ministers, with profits paid to the Scottish government.

Investors and developers can now register interest in the so-called ScotWind process.

© 2019 Bloomberg L.P

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