Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn to Develop up to 1.9 GW of Floating Offshore Wind in Scotland

Leading developers and owners of offshore wind projects Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Plenitude (Eni) and HitecVision, have been awarded exclusivity by Crown Estate Scotland for areas to develop a total of up to 1.9 GW of floating offshore wind capacity across two projects, Green Volt and Cenos.

The awards are made under Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round for offshore wind projects that provide low-carbon electricity to oil and gas platforms.

The successful bid means that the Green Volt and Cenos windfarms could begin generating first power from 2027 and 2028 respectively, making them the most advanced projects for electrification and decarbonisation of oil and gas platforms with floating offshore wind in Europe.

The power and grid-connection supplied through Green Volt and Cenos windfarms will provide renewable energy to oil and gas platforms in the surrounding areas, replacing power currently generated by gas turbines. Simultaneously, up to 7 TWh of energy from the projects will be supplied to the UK grid annually, providing consumers with renewable electricity. Overall, the projects are estimated to cut emissions by 3 million tonnes of carbon each year[1] while supporting the commercialisation of floating offshore wind technology.

By securing area exclusivity in the INTOG round, the Green Volt and Cenos projects are positioned to spark a local supply chain for floating offshore wind to develop in Scotland, also providing significant contributions to Scotland’s 2045 Net Zero target, and The North Sea Transition Deal’s goal to halve offshore emissions by 2030.

Flotation Energy is delighted that the Crown Estate has recognised the quality of its applications for both Green Volt and Cenos, and it now has the opportunity to enter into Exclusivity Agreements for these highly ambitious projects, and can continue the dialogue with the stakeholders necessary to bring these projects to fruition.

Nicol Stephen, CEO of Flotation Energy said: “We are very pleased to have been offered seabed rights for both of our North Sea decarbonisation projects. These floating windfarms will make a huge contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions from offshore oil and gas platforms by replacing industrial-scale gas turbines with renewable energy straight from our windfarms, while also becoming long-term infrastructure assets providing renewable electricity to millions of Scottish homes for decades ahead.

“The scale of these floating wind projects is huge. They will deliver billions of pounds of new infrastructure investment and help to create thousands of local jobs, giving a major boost to the Scottish supply chain. Today’s announcement allows us to get ahead with delivering renewable electricity to offshore platforms well before the end of the decade. Our challenge now is to drive forward with the delivery of these exciting projects as quickly as possible.”