ScotWind 2
More than 70 bids have been lodged by developers seeking the rights to develop major offshore wind projects on the seabed around Scotland.
The ScotWind leasing auction, which is being overseen by Crown Estate Scotland (CES), is the first of its kind for a decade.
Bidders include consortia of major oil companies, utility firms and investment funds from around the world.
They include areas of the North Sea to the east of Angus, the outer Moray Firth, west of Orkney, east of Shetland and north-west of both Lewis and Islay.
CES said it was hoped that as much as 10GW of new generating capacity could be built over the next decade as a result of the project - enough to power every home in Scotland.
The auction could net the Scottish government up to £860m.
CES aims to make initial offers to successful applicants in January of next year.
Agreements will then be finalised before developers can move forward with detailed plans.
“I think that’s also true with leasing. ScotWind one, as it’s now called, had some clear objectives and was designed to deliver them. Those were linked to the Offshore Wind Sector Deal ambition and availability of seabeds in order to see them through.
“ScotWind two projects are more likely to deliver beyond 2030 so it’d be sensible to make sure we’ve got an appropriate process to give seabed exclusivity and rights to schemes looking to deliver the next phase of wind farms.”
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