Scotland has approved two mega offshore wind farms that will supply electricity to over a million households in the region, BBC reported.
The two neighboring projects involve a total of 326 turbines, the report said. Moray Offshore Renewables and Beatrice Offshore Windfarm will start the construction of the projects in 2015, with completion targeted for 2018, an earlier report said.
The wind farms will produce 1.9 gigawatts of energy off the Caithness coast – the world’s third largest offshore wind farm. The project is capable of injecting some £2.5 billion into Scotland’s economy, employing 4600 people at peak construction and 580 permanent jobs, the report said.
The project is expected to supply peak power to 40 percent of Scotland’s population on windy days.
“This is a critical step in the development of offshore wind in deeper water, further from shore,” said João Manso Neto, CEO of EDP Renováveis. “It will provide a significant new generation resource at a time when aging thermal power stations are coming off-line and gas prices are rising. It will deliver improved security of supply, and greater insulation for consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices.”
The bigger wind farm, Moray Firth, is a 1.1 GW project that spans three sites, featuring 62 of the world’s biggest turbines. At 6-8 MW, each wind turbine will be 670 feet tall. It is being developed by Moray Offshore Renewables, a joint venture between oil and gas company Repsol and Portugal’s EDP Renewables.
The neighboring Beatrice Offshore Windfarm will be 750 MW, developed by Beatrice Offshore Windfarm, a joint venture led by Britain’s SSE Renewables and Repsol Nuevas Energias UK.