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ScottishPower and Shell celebrate ScotWind success

4C Offshore | Tom Russell
By: Tom Russell 17/01/2022 ScottishPower
ScottishPower, part of the Iberdrola Group, has today (17 January) been awarded the seabed rights to develop three new offshore wind farms off the coast of Scotland – including two new floating wind farms being developed in conjunction with Shell – as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing.

The projects – with a total capacity of 7 GW –  are expected to have the potential to create enough energy to power almost 8.5 million homes, more than three times the number of homes in Scotland. They include the MarramWind joint venture (in partnership with Shell) off the north-east coast of Scotland (3 GW floating), the CampionWind joint venture (in partnership with Shell) off the east coast of Scotland (2 GW floating) and the MachairWind project off the coast of Islay (ScottishPower, 2 GW fixed).  

The MarramWind and CampionWind sites, which are in deeper waters than the Islay site, are poised to be among the world’s first large-scale floating offshore wind farms.


Online supply chain registration portals for all three projects are now live, giving organisations the chance to get involved in working with ScottishPower and Shell.

Iberdrola operates 37.4 GW of renewables across the world and has a pipeline of over 81.5 GW of renewable projects. A recent agreement for projects in the Philippines joins other offshore wind transactions carried out by the company in recent years which have allowed the development of wind farms in the Baltic Sea (
Wikinger, Windanker, Baltic Eagle), the North Sea (East Anglia ONE), the Irish Sea (West of Duddon Sands), the coast of Massachusetts (Vineyard Wind 1, Park City Wind, Commonwealth Wind) and the coast of Brittany in France (Saint-Brieuc).

Iberdrola has operational assets, a pipeline and other early stage developments of approximately 35 GW in the UK, US, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Brazil.


Iberdrola’s Chairman and CEO, Ignacio Galán, said: “Offshore wind is essential for a Net Zero world as it delivers large volumes of clean energy at competitive prices, as well as boosting industrial development and creating significant employment.


“Iberdrola is a global leader in offshore, with investments of more than 5.5 billion euros already delivered in the UK, Europe and the US. By 2030, we aim to invest 30 billion euros delivering projects in existing markets, as well as new markets, such as Asia.


“The UK is where our first offshore projects were built, and it is home to our global centre of excellence. In total, 3 billion euros of investment has been made in UK offshore, delivering 1,000MW of capacity. The ScotWind award increases our pipeline to 10,000MW, which could see investment of 30 billion euros, and demonstrates our commitment to Scotland and the UK.


“The significant investment opportunities for this technology is also encouraging new partnerships, such as the one we have created with Shell. This builds on other partnerships we have developed globally with companies such as Total and Macquarie.”


Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower, said: “It’s absolutely brilliant to get the green light to develop new floating technology in partnership with Shell, while expanding our renewables presence in Argyll and Bute into the offshore industry. Offshore wind is set to become the backbone of the UK’s energy mix and will do the heavy lifting as we ramp up the production of clean electricity on the journey to Net Zero. Our ScotWind projects will play a massive part in that and make the best use of our fantastic natural resources to help power the UK’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables and a better future, quicker.

“They will also deliver investment, support jobs and boost supply chains – particularly in areas like the north-east that play a key role in the energy sector – opening up immense opportunities for businesses and institutions across the country. This is a pivotal moment that will reinforce the UK’s position as the global leader in offshore wind and boost the UK economy, with ScottishPower right at the heart of that transformation. We look forward to working with Shell and our supply chain partners to make that happen – come and talk to us now.”

Shell acquired Eolfi in 2019, a French renewable energies developer specialising in floating offshore wind projects. The acquisition added the
Groix & Belle-Île pilot wind farm to its portfolio, which is being developed off the coast of Brittany with an expected installed capacity of 28.5 MW once complete.

Shell has a entered a joint development agreement with floating wind specialist CoensHexicon for a project in Ulsan province, Korea. In 2020, it deployed a FLiDAR (floating light detection and ranging) system to assess the feasibility for floating wind in South Korea.


In Ireland, Shell owns a 51% share in the 300 MW
Emerald floating wind farm which is in early-stage development.

Wael Sawan, Integrated Gas and Renewables and Energy Solutions Director at Shell, said: “Shell and ScottishPower can now look forward to generating floating wind power at significant scale in the UK to accelerate the country’s transition towards Net Zero. Floating wind plays to our strengths in deeper offshore projects, and we are well placed to help advance the wider take-up of this important clean energy source. Renewable electricity will play an increasingly important role in our customer-focused strategy, as we provide more low-carbon products and services customers need for their own journey to Net Zero.”


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