The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Plans for Fife-sized offshore wind farm
ENERGY: Array could power Scotland’s homes twice over
Plans to build the world’s second-largest wind farm – covering the same area as the whole of Fife – have been revealed for the North Sea.
The Berwick Bank Wind Farm would cover 1,314sq km and be located 36km from Fife and 34km off the Angus coast.
The proposal by SSE Renewables brings together Berwick Bank and Marr Bank offshore wind farms into one single wind farm.
The project would be capable of generating enough energy to power more than five million homes – equivalent to all of Scotland’s households twice over.
It will also avoid eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually – similar to removing all of Scotland’s annual car emissions.
Awind farm covering the same area as the whole of Fife is planned for the North Sea. The world’s second largest offshore wind farm could be built 34 kilometres from Angus and 36 kilometres off the Fife coast.
SSE Renewables is planning to build Berwick Bank Wind Farm in a vast area measuring 1,314 square kilometres.
The proposed 4.1GW development would more than double the size of current offshore wind operations in Scotland.
It is more than twice the size of any single wind farm currently in development and the second largest proposed anywhere in the world.
Only Sinan Korea Offshore in South Korea, which won permission this year, has more capacity, at 8.2GW.
SSE Renewables said the number of turbines and their height is not known at this stage.
But the Perth firm believes the offshore project is so far out the visual impact is minimal.
A spokesperson said: “Berwick Bank Wind Farm is further afield than any of the other neighbouring wind farm developments in the Firth of Forth zone.
“The project team consider any visual impact from the coast to be minimal.”
3D visualisations, including views from the coast, will be shown at public consultations early next year.
The new plans are more than 10 years in development.
They bring together Berwick Bank and Marr Bank offshore wind farms, into one single development.
Together they would increase the country’s overall renewable energy capacity by nearly 30%.
The project will be capable of generating enough energy to power over five million homes, equivalent to all of Scotland’s households twice over.
In comparison, both the Seagreen and Inch Cape developments estimate an output of 1GW to 1.1GW.
It will also avoid eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually – similar to removing all of Scotland’s annual car emissions.
SSE Renewables’ Berwick Bank project director Alex Meredith said: “Faster delivery will help Scotland and the UK hit 2030 offshore wind targets, enable net-zero in Scotland by 2045 and see the UK continue to lead the world in large-scale offshore wind deployment.
“By combining the two project proposals into a super project we believe we can deliver Berwick Bank Wind Farm – one of the world’s largest offshore wind opportunities – more quickly.”
The wind farm’s planning application is likely to go to the Scottish Government in spring 2022.
If consented and greenlit for construction, it could begin generating clean electricity in the second half of this decade.
It could help Scotland meet its net zero targets of generating up to 11GW new offshore wind by 2030.
Cabinet secretary for net zero and climate change Michael Matheson said: “Decarbonising our energy demands is a vital component of our just transition to net-zero and our world-leading renewables sector will play a vital role in this.”
SSE Renewables is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy across the UK and Ireland.
It has a portfolio of around 4GW of onshore wind, offshore wind and hydro.
It is currently constructing the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea.