The Scottish Government has granted consent and marine licenses for SSE Renewables’ 4.1 GW Berwick Bank offshore wind farm, which could become the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
The Section 36 consent determination by Scottish ministers has approved the project’s main offshore wind farm array in the outer Firth of Forth off the East Lothian coast.
Berwick Bank will have an estimated capacity of 4.1 GW which, with current technology, could generate up to 11.2 TWh of electricity annually - enough to power around 17% of households in the UK.
The decision represents the last major consent necessary for the project to proceed and is the culmination of more than a decade of development work by SSE Renewables on the project’s design.
Delivery of the project will now be subject to SSE securing a contract for new low-carbon offshore wind power under the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, as well as reaching a final investment decision.
Berwick Bank has the potential to create 9,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the UK at peak construction – with around 4,650 of these jobs in Scotland.
The project could increase Scotland’s current operational renewable electricity capacity by almost 25%, boosting the country’s efforts to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045.
“The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.
“It is also an important decision for Scotland’s renewables sector, and this investment will be further built upon through the delivery of Scotland’s significant future pipeline of offshore wind projects under the ScotWind and the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing rounds,” said Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister.
“As the UK’s clean energy champion, SSE now looks forward to the UK Government delivering the most ambitious CfD scheme yet through the upcoming AR7 auction round.
“Berwick Bank has the potential to rapidly scale-up Scotland’s operational renewable energy capacity and can accelerate the delivery of homegrown, affordable and secure clean energy to UK consumers from Scottish offshore wind, helping meet the UK’s clean power ambition by 2030,” added Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director, SSE Renewables.