Masdar has invested GBP 52.5 million (approx. EUR 61 million) in Hywind Scotland Pilot Park, according to Scottish Development International (SDI), as Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy investor agreed with Statoil to take a 25% stake in the project.
Norwegian energy company Statoil made the final investment decision to build the Hywind Scotland floating wind farm in November 2015 , with an expected project cost of NOK 2 billion (EUR 214 million).
The pilot park will comprise five floating 6MW turbines installed approximately 25km off the coast of Peterhead, with a generating capacity of 135GWh of electricity each year. It is expected that the Hywind Scotland development could power up to 19,900 households.
Masdar’s investment, announced during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, means that its UK electricity generating capacity is now 1.06GW, SDI stated. The company already has stakes in two large UK offshore wind farms: the 630MW London Array and the 402MW Dudgeon, together with its Hywind project partner Statoil.
According to last year’s reports , Masdar had been considering an investment in a 1.5GW portfolio of different offshore projects in the European market.
Aside from Hywind Scotland and Dudgeon, Statoil also holds a 40% share in the Sheringham Shoal wind farm in the UK, which has been in production since 2012, and acquired 50% of the Arkona offshore wind farm in Germany last year. The company was also declared the provisional winner of the U.S. government’s wind lease sale offshore New York in December 2016.
Offshore WIND Staff