SSE, Marubeni, CIP team up for ScotWind leasing

Scottish offshore wind seabed leasing process has brought together Scotland-headquartered SSE Renewables, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation, and Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

According to the latest press release from SSE Renewables, the developer has teamed up with Marubeni and CIP to work on joint bids for the ScotWind seabed leasing, managed by Crown Estate Scotland.

“We were pleased to see the Scottish Government confirm the final Sectoral Marine Plan to give developers certainty on the potential option areas in ScotWind and look forward to finalising our bids in the coming months”, said CIP Partner, Michael Hannibal. “We have a combined offshore wind portfolio of around 5GW in Scotland and over 20GW globally and we have our sights set on increasing this through the ScotWind process”.

Registration of interest for the leasing round was launched this June, with the application period for ScotWind expected to close on 31 March 2021.

At the beginning of November, Crown Estate Scotland issued an update on the timeline for the process, saying it would publish the Post-adoption Addendum to ScotWind Leasing on 15 January 2021, which will confirm the final arrangements for submitting applications. 

The authority will also issue details to registered applicants outlining some of the technical aspects of the arrangements which will be covered fully in the Post-adoption Addendum, to provide further certainty as early as possible.

SSE Renewables has built Scotland’s currently largest offshore wind farm, Beatrice, and is also leading the construction of the 1.1 GW Seagreen project, which will become the largest offshore wind farm in Scottish waters when completed. The company is also behind Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which at 3.6 GW will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world, once up and running.

Furthermore, the developer is holding public consultation now for its planned Berwick Bank offshore wind project, which would bring up to 2.3 GW of installed offshore wind capacity to Scotland.

When it comes to Marubeni, the conglomerate has been involved in several offshore wind projects worldwide, is currently leading a consortium behind Japan’s first commercial scale offshore wind projects at Akita Port and Noshiro Port in Akita Prefecture, and is also participating in two floating offshore wind demonstration projects in Japan.

“The global expertise that Marubeni and CIP bring to the table is important not only in fixed foundation offshore wind deployment but also in the development of critical new floating technology. We believe that ScotWind will play a pivotal role in delivering the new Scottish offshore wind target of 11GW by 2030 on the pathway to net zero bringing a wealth of economic benefits along the way”, said Hisafumi Manabe, President & CEO of Marubeni Offshore Wind Development Corporation.

Denmark-based CIP, which already worked with SSE Renewables on the 588 MW Beatrice project in Scotland, has stakes in offshore wind projects in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia, with a global offshore wind pipeline of over 10 GW. Copenhagen Offshore Partners, a company that provides development and construction services exclusively for CIP, recently opened offices in Edinburgh, which will serve as their global floating offshore wind competence centre.