A new proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of Aberdeenshire has taken the next step towards reality.
An offshore array consent application has been submitted to the Scottish Government for the Ossian project.
If plans are successful, it will become one of the biggest floating offshore wind farms in the world — and the largest in the UK.
Once operational, Ossian would have a capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW) and would be capable of producing enough energy to power six million homes annually.
The site of the proposed project is a whopping 331 sq miles, more than four times the size of Aberdeen.
The proposal, which would sit 52 miles off the Aberdeenshire coast, is being co-developed by SSE Renewables as well as Japanese group Marubeni and Danish fund management firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
Next step in huge project
It has taken three years of extensive consultation and investigation work to get to this stage for Ossian.
The team has consulted with over 30 organisations including regulatory and industry bodies across nature conservation, to ensure the application is reflective of their views.
Development lead Rich Morris is feeling positive the submission of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment report will support the delivery of Ossian.
He said: “We’re committed to continuing engagement with the statutory consultees and wider stakeholder community.
“We are confident this submission will support the timely delivery of the UK’s largest floating offshore wind farm ensuring Ossian is ready to take full advantage of ongoing grid reforms and National Grid ESO’s move to a ‘first ready, first connected’ model.
“We have worked hard to reach this significant milestone which is crucial in paving the way for a decarbonised future and supporting the Scottish and UK governments’ net zero targets.”
Extensive surveys have also gathered enormous amounts of key data relating to the wind farm array.
Ossian offshore wind farm assessment
Ossian has also collaborated with other ScotWind developers to document the habits of bird populations in the wider North Sea region.
The survey involved four aircraft flying simultaneously once a month to collect images across an 11,550 sq miles area in the North Sea. It took 690 hours to complete.
In November, Ossian also became the first ScotWind floating offshore wind farm to complete essential geotechnical surveys.
Earlier this year, a year-long metocean data gathering campaign collecting information relating to wave height, currents, tides, and sediment movements was concluded.
The data and samples provided will be used to understand the engineering properties of the seabed across the vast site.
Public consultation on the consent application for the Ossian offshore Array will take place from July 23 to September 3.
Conversation