Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway/LONDON – Two majors have confirmed their participation in ScotWind, the competitive tender offshore wind leasing round run by Crown Estate Scotland.
Equinor will target floating offshore wind opportunities, which make up around half the sites on offer.
The company operates Hywind Scotland near Peterhead, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, which began operating in 2019.
According to the company, the facilities have consistently provided the highest capacity factor among all UK offshore wind farms.
bp and German wind power developer EnBW have jointly applied for a lease area off the east coast of Scotland that could support projects with 2.9 GW generating capacity.
Their bid includes the prospect of speeding Scotland’s energy transition, bp claimed, by potentially attracting multi-billion-pound investments to the country’s offshore wind projects and supporting infrastructure, including ports, harbors, and shipyards.
In addition, the company would make Aberdeen its global offshore wind center of excellence, supporting its growing offshore wind portfolio worldwide, and would invest in local green hydrogen production.
bp and EnBW would also invest in a new skills capability accelerator developed by Xodus that will provide on-the-job project experience and formal learning.
This is a five-year financial commitment that includes creating entry-level energy transition roles, and the re-skilling of hundreds of oil and gas workers, graduates, and technicians with renewable sector capabilities. To engage the local supply chain, the partners have opened an online portal through which the Scottish engineering and supply sector can participate in the developments.
Earlier this year, bp and EnBW agreed to jointly develop and operate two leases in the Irish Sea that offer a combined potential generating capacity of 3GW.
EnBW currently operates four offshore wind sites in the German Baltic Sea and North Sea, and plans to build the 900-MW He Dreiht offshore windfarm, due to start operating in 2025.
07/19/2021
