Beatrice offshore wind farm, the world’s fourth largest offshore wind farm and Scotland’s biggest, officially opened on July 29 by HRH The Prince Charles, The Duke of Rothesay. The Beatrice project costed £2.5 billion and is the largest single private investment ever made in Scotland.
Specifically, the Beatrice Project was developed by Scottish-headquartered energy firm, SSE Renewables (40%), with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (35%) and Red Rock Power Limited (25%).
The offshore project is placed in the North Sea, 13km off the coast of Caithness. According to SSE Renewables, its 84 turbines will generate 588MW of energy, able to provide power to 450,000 homes annually, and save about 8 million tonnes of carbon emissions through its expected 25-year operation.
In addition, the project’s construction boosted UK’s economy by providing £2.4bn, £1bn out of which went to Scotland, supporting 19,110 years of employment in the UK during the development and construction phases, of which 7,180 were in Scotland.
In light of the project, Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Government Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, commented that Beatrice is the largest offshore wind development in Scotland to date and can provide electricity for a huge number of homes and businesses.
In order to maximise economic opportunities a collaborative effort is required between Governments and industry to ensure that our vision for a vibrant offshore wind sector in Scotland is achieved.
He continued that Scotland is looking to future licensing rounds to fully explore the wider offshore wind sector opportunities in favour of the Scottish economy.
This project follows the release of ‘Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund‘ according to which the Scottish Government stated its goal on helping commercial deployment of tidal projects.