Scotland greenlights biggest offshore wind farm in the world

SCOTLAND has granted consent for SSE Renewables to build a 4.1 GW offshore wind farm off the East Lothian coast – a project that could become the largest of its kind in the world.

Located around 38 km east of the Scottish Borders coastline, the Berwick Bank wind farm has been in development for a decade and could increase Scotland’s renewable capacity by nearly 25%.

SSE says the farm could create around 4,650 jobs in Scotland, and 9,300 jobs in the UK overall.

Stephen Wheeler, MD for SSE Renewables, said: “At over 4 GW of potential capacity, Berwick Bank can play a pivotal role in meeting the mission of Clean Power 2030 for the UK and achieving Scotland’s decarbonisation and climate action goals.”

World's first

The largest operating offshore wind farm in the world is Ørsted’s Hornsea 2, located in the North Sea. It comprises 165 turbines and has a capacity of 1.32 GW.

Berwick Bank is expected to have 307 turbines, with two grid connection locations in Scotland, at Branxton, East Lothian, southwest of the Torness power station, and in England at Cambois, north of Blyth in Northumberland.

The development of the farm involved ornithology surveys on the area, which included 25 months of aerial surveys, and analysis of biodiversity. SSE partnered with Microsoft, Avanade and NatureScot to use AI to assess how the farm would impact the environment.

Scottish wind

According to Crown Estate Scotland, the country’s current generating capacity for offshore wind stands at 1.9 GW.

The country is looking to grow its capacity from 8-11 GW by 2030, to 40 GW by 2040 – enough to power 45 million homes.

On Berwick, Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister, said: “The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.”