Energy vision opens new horizon

It has been widely reported that during July the application window closed for ScotWind, Crown Estate Scotland’s first round of seabed leasing for offshore windfarms in Scotland in a decade. 
This is an exceptional moment for the Scottish renewables industry, and particularly for the offshore wind sector, which is expected to trigger billions of pounds of investment later this decade. Interest in the round has been enormous, which is no surprise given Scotland’s commitment to renewable energy and to achieving net zero, with one of the most ambitious targets in the world. 

This enthusiasm for renewable energy is only matched by Scotland’s outstanding natural resources, which offer some of the best potential to be found anywhere for renewable energy and for offshore wind in particular. The ScotWind leasing round will be pivotal to Scotland to unlocking this natural resource to deliver its climate change targets, as well as bringing long-term jobs and skills to communities across the country, both on the projects themselves and throughout the supply chain.
Any company winning a lease to develop offshore wind in Scotland will need to work closely with local colleges and universities to ensure we train the next generation of technicians, engineers and project managers to deliver this and also work to retrain and make the most of the huge pool of talent that already exists in the oil and gas industry. 
As the global leader in offshore wind, Ørsted has seen the positive, transformative impact of offshore wind developments: providing clean, cheap energy for homes and businesses; investing in the supply chain and opening access to opportunities across the globe; and creating new jobs and skills that leave a lasting legacy in communities across the country.
Ørsted’s state-of-the-art operations base in Grimsby is home to more than 400 workers, the vast majority of whom live close to the site, and thousands more jobs are supported in the local supply chain across the Humber. With that in mind, Ørsted was delighted to submit multiple bids into the ScotWind leasing round for a total of five projects: two floating wind-only bids as part of a joint-venture partnership with BlueFloat Energy and Falck Renewables and a further three bids as Ørsted alone for sites that include a mix of bottom-fixed and floating wind farms.
Ørsted recently celebrated the installation of its 1000th offshore turbine in the UK, a milestone which underlines the UK’s world leading status in offshore wind. 
To reach this milestone, Ørsted has been developing, constructing and installing offshore wind farms in the UK since securing its first project, Barrow offshore wind farm, in 2004. By the end of 2021 Ørsted will have invested over £13 billion building UK offshore wind farms and by 2022 Ørsted’s offshore wind farms will be generating over 7% of the UK’s electricity.
It owns and operates the world’s largest offshore windfarm, Hornsea One, which produces 1.2GW of electricity. Hornsea Two is currently under construction and due for completion in 2022 – at 1.4GW, when complete, it will overtake Hornsea One to become the world’s largest operational offshore windfarm.
Ørsted is one of the world's largest renewable energy companies and in 2020 was ranked the most sustainable company in the world. It is the global leader in offshore wind with 7.6 GW installed and 30 years of experience. 
These decades of experience and expertise in designing and delivering large-scale offshore wind projects on time and on budget, is something that Ørsted is looking forward to bringing to Scotland to maximise the potential of the industry and make a major contribution to Scotland’s offshore wind target of 11GW installed by 2030.
Benj Sykes, Vice President in Orsted’s UK offshore wind business, said: “In the short term, there are fantastic sites for large-scale bottom-fixed windfarms off the coast of Scotland, taking advantage of a technology that is well understood and that provides affordable renewable energy for homes and businesses.  
“With our unrivalled experience in offshore wind developments, these bottom-fixed sites can be designed and built quickly and immediately begin supporting the growth of the supply chain in Scotland. 
“At the same time, Scotland is in a great place to become a leader in the new technology of floating offshore wind.  
“It will take time for this technology to come down in cost but our decades-long involvement in offshore wind development, bringing deep experience in end-to-end engineering, construction, operations, maintenance and supply chain development, will help de-risk and fast-track the floating industry.
“Tapping into this expertise that already exists in Scotland and coupling it with Ørsted’s experience, will be crucial in helping Scotland remain at the forefront of this exciting new technology.”
The positive social and economic impact it has on the communities and businesses where it operates is perhaps the most powerful change that can be brought by the offshore wind industry. And nowhere in the world can this be seen more clearly than around the Humber, which has been able to attract offshore wind businesses and supply chain companies who have invested £millions in revitalising the area.
In Grimsby, Ørsted has created the world’s largest offshore wind operations and maintenance base – employing more than 400 people at the Ørsted facility alone, with many more in the local supply chain. The company’s investments in the Humber, over half a decade, have brought long-term employment, training, and community support – a true revival of this coastal community.  And this success is being mirrored in other hubs around the country, including in the Forth and Tay and in the North East of Scotland. 
Benj Sykes explains:“Grimsby and the wider Humber area is now known globally as a leader in offshore wind technology – we have welcomed delegations from all over the world to discuss best practice and how they might follow the lead that the UK has set.  And without doubt there’s the opportunity to see this sort of economic transformation of coastal communities right across the UK, not least in Scotland.
“As the offshore wind industry stands poised for the development of commercial scale floating offshore wind, Scottish businesses are strongly positioned to benefit and cement Scotland’s world leading position in this exciting new technology.
“We look forward to being able to work with the Scottish energy community  partners in Scotland to deliver on the commitments in our bid now and well into the future, helping to ensure that Scotland's offshore wind industry will continue to develop and thrive for decades to come."