EnBW, BP score ScotWind lease option for 2.9-GW offshore wind project

German electric utility EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (ETR:EBK) and UK oil-and-gas major BP Plc (LON:BP) have won a lease option to develop a roughly 2.9-GW offshore wind project in Scottish waters, securing the award in the ScotWind Leasing round.

In today's statement after the ScotWind results became public, BP said the parties had secured a lease on an area known as E1, an around 860-square-kilometre (332 sq miles) site located some 60 kilometres (37.3 miles) off the coast of Aberdeen. There, they will aim to develop an bottom-fixed wind project called Morven.

The ScotWind Leasing round was finalised today with Crown Estate Scotland awarding option agreements to around 24.8 GW of floating and bottom-fixed wind projects.

Going forward, BP and EnBW will seek to set up their operational centre in Scotland, while BP will make Aberdeen its global operations and maintenance centre of excellence for offshore wind, the oil major said.

"We have a fantastic partner in EnBW and now an even more competitive portfolio of nearly 6 GW of combined offshore wind to develop together", commented BP CEO Bernard Looney.

The two companies are also partners on two offshore wind projects totalling up to 3 GW in the Irish sea, which were successful last year in the UK’s Round 4 lease auction.

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