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Capacity Cap lifted for Inch Cape

By: Bridget Randall-Smith 05/08/2021 4COffshore

General Windfarms

Scottish Ministers have approved the consent variation to remove the capacity limit for the Inch Cape offshore wind farm, located in the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 15-22km east of the Angus coastline.

Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL), an equal joint venture between Edinburgh based renewable and sustainable energy company, Red Rock Power Limited and Ireland’s leading energy company, ESB.

ICOL submitted an application to Marine Scotland in January 2021 seeking to remove the 1 GW generating cap on the grounds that it is deemed feasible that turbines of 15 MW could be installed within the other consented project parameters and construction timescales.

The application was put forward for consultation and two objections were received with concerns that increasing the capacity could result in changes to the transmission system and potentially impact the environment. ICOL responded that it was not seeking any variation to the onshore transmission infrastructure at this time and any changes would be sought via appropriate approval procedures.

Scottish Minister are satisfied that this change won't cause additional impact to the environment and in late July confirmed the removal of the capacity cap.

The wind farm design has changed and improved over the years, taking advantage of new technologies and innovations within the wider offshore wind industry.Under the current consents up to 72 turbines, with a maximum height of 291 metres and 250 metre rotor diameter, can be installed, as well as 190 km of array cabling.

Electricity from Inch Cape will be transmitted via subsea export cables to an existing National Grid Electricity Transmission connection at the former Cockenzie Power Station in East Lothian.

Commenting on the variation, Adam Ezzamel, Project Director, Inch Cape Offshore Wind Ltd, said:

“This is an important part of getting the project into shape as we look to compete in the auction for government-backed contracts for renewable energy later this year. Whilst this doesn’t change the number of turbines we can deploy, or maximum tip heights, it will allow us to use the most powerful wind turbines on the market, meaning we can produce more power at an even lower cost for consumers from the same overall layout.

“The auction is going to be incredibly competitive and likely to see a further reduction in the cost of offshore wind, so we need to optimise every single aspect of the project if we are to succeed.”

This story was first reported exclusively for 4C Offshore subscribers. For more information, click here
For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

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Capacity Cap lifted for Inch Cape

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