The Scottish Government has granted offshore consent for the two-gigawatt (GW) West of Orkney Windfarm, making it the first project in the ScotWind leasing round to secure both onshore and offshore approvals.
The project is being developed by a partnership of Corio Generation, TotalEnergies, and Renewables Infrastructure Development Group. It is to be located around 30 kilometres west of the Orkney mainland and will feature up to 125 turbines on fixed foundations.
Project Director Stuart McAuley stated that the wind farm has the potential to deliver enough "renewable electricity" to power around two million homes. However, he also noted that the project and its investors are focused on working with the government to achieve certainty on key regulatory areas such as transmission charging, electricity market reform, and the rules for future contract auction rounds. He said clarity on these points will be "crucial" for progressing into construction and operation.
According to West of Orkney Windfarm, the project’s application for onshore planning permission was approved in principle by the Highland Council in June 2024. In March of this year, the council further indicated that it would raise no objection to the offshore planning application submitted to the Scottish Government.