- Billions will be invested in high quality green jobs as part
of Scotland’s transition to net zero.
First Minister has welcomed the “truly
historic” opportunity for Scotland’s net zero economy, as the
winners of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing auction were today
announced by Crown Estate Scotland.
17 projects, with a combined potential generating capacity of
25GW, have been offered the rights to specific areas of the
seabed for the development of offshore wind power - with
developers giving commitments to invest in the Scottish supply
chain, providing opportunities for high quality green jobs for
decades to come.
The projects are expected to secure at least £1bn in supply chain
investment for every 1GW of capacity proposed. They will also
generate around £700 million in revenue for the Scottish
Government and represent the world’s first commercial scale
opportunity for floating offshore wind. As well as helping
complete Scotland’s own journey to net zero, creating thousands
of jobs in the process, our offshore wind resource also has the
potential to position Scotland as a major exporter of renewable
energy, including green hydrogen.
Commenting, First Minister said:
“The scale of opportunity here is truly historic. ScotWind puts
Scotland at the forefront of the global development of offshore
wind, represents a massive step forward in our transition to net
zero, and will help deliver the supply chain investments and high
quality jobs that will make the climate transition a fair one.
“It allows us to make huge progress in decarbonising our energy
supply – vital if we are to reduce Scotland’s emissions – while
securing investment in the Scottish supply chain of at least £1
billion for every gigawatt of power. This will be
transformational. And because Scotland’s workers are superbly
placed with transferable skills to capitalise on the transition
to new energy sources, we have every reason to be optimistic
about the number of jobs that can be created.
“That means, for example, that people working right now in the
oil and gas sector in the North East of Scotland can be confident
of opportunities for their future. The spread of projects
across our waters promises economic benefits for communities the
length and breadth of the country, ensuring Scotland benefits
directly from the revolution in energy generation that is coming.
“The scale of opportunity represented in today’s announcement
exceeds our current planning assumption of 10GW of offshore wind
- which is a massive vote of confidence in Scotland. So we will
now embark on the rigorous consenting process required to make
sure we can maximise the potential that clearly exists in
offshore wind while also ensuring that the impacts of large scale
development – including on other marine users and the wider
natural environment - are properly understood and addressed.
“While it is not yet possible to say with certainty what the
scale of development will ultimately be, there is no doubt that
the scale of this opportunity is transformational - both for our
environment and the economy.”
Background
The full details of the successful bids were announced by
Crown Estate Scotland
today.
