Falck, BlueFloat sign option agreements on 3 GW of ScotWind sites

Italy’s Falck Renewables SpA (BIT:FKR) and Madrid-based floating wind specialist BlueFloat Energy have signed option agreements on their three successful bids in the ScotWind offshore leasing round, with the three areas capable of delivering about 3 GW of offshore wind capacity.

One of the sites was secured by a consortium of Falck Renewables, BlueFloat and Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED). It is located east of Caithness in Plan Option N3 and will be called Stromar.

The two sites awarded to the partnership between Falck Renewables and BlueFloat, east of Aberdeen in Plan Option E1 and north of Fraserburgh in Plan Option NE6, will be known as Bellrock and Broadshore, respectively.

Subject to obtaining consent, commercial arrangements and grid connections, the projects are expected to be online by the end of the decade, the firms say.

“We are delighted to have signed the option agreements and now move on to delivering floating offshore wind developments at a scale which will really make a difference to Scotland,” said BlueFloat Energy chief executive Carlos Martin.

Preparatory work will include research with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) into the potential effects of floating offshore wind developments on the marine environment.

The companies are already working with community ownership experts Energy4All on sharing the planned projects’ financial benefits with Scottish communities, as well as with Energy Skills Partnership Scotland (ESP) on training a workforce in time for construction.

Crown Estate Scotland announced in January that 17 projects totalling some 24.8 GW had secured option agreements in the ScotWind offshore wind lease auction round after being selected from a pool of 74 applications.

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