Sturgeon hails ‘crucial’ offshore windfarms as new Shetland projects progress

New offshore wind power projects will be “crucial” as Scotland seeks to become “one of the net-zero capitals of Europe”, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister spoke out as seabed agreements were announced for three new developments in the waters around Shetland – which together are expected to generate some 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity.

The three projects have all been offered option agreements as part of the Crown Estate’s ScotWind clearing process.

The deal was announced as the First Minister visited Aberdeen for an offshore wind supply chain summit with Energy Secretary Michael Matheson and oil industry tycoon, Sir Ian Wood.

Ms Sturgeon stressed the role that offshore wind would have, saying that the Scottish Government regarded the sector as providing “one of the most important economic and environmental opportunities we have”.

She stated: “It can reduce our carbon emissions, improve our energy security, and create tens of thousands of high-quality jobs.

“It will bring benefits for all of Scotland – but it will be especially important in the north east, and a crucial part in the transition from being the oil and gas capital of Europe, to being one of the net-zero capitals of Europe.”

The First Minister continued: “The importance of accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources, including hydrogen, has been brought into sharp relief by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.

“In Scotland, nearly 100% of our net electricity demand already comes from renewable sources and we are focused on reducing energy demand and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy.”

Ms Sturgeon said the ScotWind programme, which will see parts of the seabed around Scotland leased for offshore wind would “deliver a new era” for the industry.

She hailed the initiative, saying it represented “the world’s largest commercial round for floating offshore wind and breaks new ground in putting large-scale floating wind technology on the map at gigawatt scale”.

The First Minister continued: “It will provide several billion pounds more in rental revenues once projects become operational, to be invested for the benefit of the people of Scotland.”

Ms Sturgeon later spoke to journalists outside the conference in Aberdeen.

She acknowledged there were “challenges” in building new infrastructure such as ports which would service the offshore developments.

The ScotWind licensing process set out expectations for companies to build their supply chains in Scotland, she said.

The First Minister added: “In terms of using the expertise and the skills, built up over five decades in oil and gas, now to build a renewable sector, that’s a good thing. That’s something we should be encouraging.

“But we’ve got to make sure that we do that in a way that delivers economic benefits here in Scotland.”

The three new developments that seabed agreements have been announced for should see £56 million raised for the Scottish Government in option fees – with further payments of £4 million per GW per year also expected once they are up and running.

While the announcement of seabed agreements is just the first stage in that process, Colin Palmer, the director of marine at Crown Estate Scotland, hailed the news as “a fantastic result for Shetland and for Scotland”.

He added: “These projects have significant potential to really boost Scotland’s progress towards its net-zero targets, including in relation to the opportunity around green hydrogen.

“Taking these three into account, the 20 ScotWind projects now total up to 27.6GW with initial supply chain commitments indicating an average of £1.4 billion investment in Scotland per gigawatt of capacity built.

“This result is further proof that Scotland is leading globally on offshore wind, deploying new technology and exploiting the potential of hydrogen.”