ScotWind winners could boost Ossian floating wind project to 3.6 GW

SSE Renewables, Japan’s Marubeni Corp (TYO:8002) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) could boost the capacity of their Ossian floating wind project in Scottish waters to up to 3.6 GW from 2.6 GW as originally conceived.

SSE Renewables, part of UK utility SSE Plc (LON:SSE), said that the potential for the capacity bump was identified following geophysical and benthic surveys.

The new size will depend on further environmental and technical assessments and consent. If achieved, Ossian would be in the group of top five largest floating wind farms in the world, according to the UK renewables company.

SSE Renewables, Marubeni and CIP secured the right to develop the floating wind project in the ScotWind offshore leasing round in January 2022. They named the project Ossian after The Poems of Ossian, SSE Renewables said.

The trio will develop a site of 858 sq km (331.3 sq miles) of seabed area off the east coast of Scotland. The block is located within the E1 Zone in the Firth of Forth off the Angus Coast, in proximity to SSE Renewables’ 1.1-GW Seagreen offshore wind site.

Glasgow-based metocean specialist Partrac has deployed floating LiDAR, or FLiDAR (Floating Light Detection and Ranging) at the Ossian site and is now acquiring data. The equipment is placed at two locations to measure wind speed and direction in order to help determine the best locations and positions for wind turbines, SSE Renewables added.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!