A consortium of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group 9GIG), TotalEnergies and Scottish developer RIDG has announced a bid for an offshore wind project west of the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The 2 GW proposal – named the West of Orkney wind farm – has the potential to power more than 2 million homes and is currently being assessed by the Crown Estate Scotland as part of the ScotWind leasing round.
The bid is the culmination of five years of engagement between the consortium and stakeholders in Caithness and Orkney, Scotland, which includes Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Orkney Harbour Authority and Scrabster Harbour Trust to enhance port infrastructure and position the area competitively to support offshore wind projects in the future.
An exclusive MoU has also been signed with the European Marine Energy Centre on Orkney (EMEC), formalising a long-standing relationship in technical innovation and environmental data collection, building on EMEC’s marine energy research and development facilities and expertise.
The consortium has undertaken extensive site investigations, including birds, marine mammals and near-shore geophysical surveys, and has finalised a grid connection agreement with National Grid that will enable the project to commence generation in 2029.
