A consortium composed of DEME Concessions NV, Qair Marine SAS, and Aspiravi International NV called Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) has revealed its participation in Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind seabed leasing process.
ScotWind is a seabed leasing round, managed by Crown Estate Scotland, which aims to enable up to 10 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind farms to be constructed in the country’s coastal waters.
The application window for registered applicants opened in January 2021, and the deadline for applications was 5 pm on Friday, July 16, with 74 applications submitted.
The seabed round in which companies apply for the right to build wind farms has attracted the interest of both "traditional" renewables giants such as Iberdrola, Orsted, Ocean Winds, RWE, and Vattenfall, from the oil majors looking to diversify, such as Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP, and from offshore services firms such as TechnipFMC, Deme Offshore, and BW Offshore.
Per info on the Crown Estate Scotland website, Scotland's goal is to have 50% of the country’s overall energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030, and to reach reaching net zero emissions by 2045.
ScotWind is the first round of offshore wind leasing in Scottish waters for a decade and is designed to help the country meet its climate and emissions reductions goals.
"TWP will bring together its partners’ solid experience in similar offshore wind developments, characterized by fast-track delivery, stakeholder involvement, and supply chain engagement. TWP looks forward to contributing to the acceleration of the energy transition in Scotland," the consortium said.
"The consortium partners are global leaders in their respective fields and accrue a strong track record of successfully delivering projects in environmentally, technically, and financially innovative ways to ensure optimal delivery with a major focus on local community and supply chain engagement. The partners’ complementary capabilities will achieve their ambition to develop, build, and operate offshore wind projects in Scotland," the consortium added.
DEME Concessions brings together all investments and expertise of the DEME Group in the fields of offshore wind and other renewables, green hydrogen, port development, Public Private Partnership (PPP) Infrastructure, environment, and marine resources. DEME Concessions provides equity, project finance structuring, and specific technical knowhow, with the support of the various activity lines of the DEME Group. DEME Concessions Wind has developed over 1.5 GW of offshore wind projects in Europe with increasing focus on the UK.
Qair Marine, a subsidiary of Qair dedicated to offshore wind, has floating offshore wind experience with the development of EolMed in the French Mediterranean and the operations and maintenance of Floatgen, the first floating offshore wind turbine in France.
As of today, Qair owns and operates 500 MW exclusively from renewable sources. Globally, the group is in the construction and financing phase of an additional 700 MW and targets an installed capacity of 5 GW within five years.
Aspiravi International develops, implements, and operates renewable energy projects with a total installed capacity of over 1.5 GW. These projects primarily pertain to wind energy but the Aspiravi Group also owns and operates biomass installations, biogas engines, and hydroelectric installations.
"Despite the challenging sea and seabed conditions of Scottish waters, TWP has strengthened its position through the extensive experience of DEME Offshore (member of the DEME Group) and its unrivaled track record in the transport and installation of foundations, turbines, inter-array cables, export cables, and substations for offshore wind farms. DEME Offshore has been involved in almost 30 offshore renewable projects to-date in the UK (circa 6 GW)," the consortium said.
TWP further said it was committed to working with Scottish communities and businesses to help develop supply chains and expertise.
"In the coming months, the consortium will be actively engaging with communities and businesses to understand local capabilities in detail and envision a way of successfully working together.
"Focus will be given to breaking down barriers to new entrants to the labor force, newly qualified workers, and energy transition job creation, all the while ensuring, through investment, that Scottish ports are ready and in the best position to seize the offshore wind pipeline of opportunities. This will build upon DEME Offshore’s efforts to date in working to increase local content and their established supply chain in Scotland and the rest of the UK," TWP said.