Scottish Ministers have approved a variation application to refine the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm’s offshore consents, which will go forward with lower number of turbines, but with the same 100 MW capacity.
The Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm is being developed by Highland Wind, which is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), with Hexicon as a minority shareholder.
The wind farm will be located 7.5 km off the coast of Dounreay, in Caithness, and will generate enough green electricity to power up to 70,000 homes.
The variation to consents for the wind farm includes a reduction in the number of turbines, which will be deployed within a smaller area, while maintaining 100 MW capacity. The project’s operational lifespan will be up to 25 years.
The application was submitted after further survey work and advancements in project design allowed the proposals to be refined.
“The Pentland project will pioneer a number of innovative technologies enabling the industrialization of floating offshore wind along with delivering significant benefits to the local economy. We now have all key development requirements in place and are ready to move forward.
“Throughout the consent process we have prioritized sustainability, with the goal of minimizing any negative environmental impacts of the project. We are confident this refined design is future proof and ensures we can deliver the same benefit to the local community, and Scotland’s energy sector, while further reducing the project’s environmental impacts,” said Richard Copeland, Project Director.