Salamander wind farm project reaches vital next step with onshore consent submissions

Salamander Offshore Wind Farm, a project being developed by the Salamander Wind Project Company Limited, a joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, has submitted its consent applications for the onshore aspects of its proposed floating development, located 35 km off Peterhead on the East Coast of Scotland.

Salamander infographic map
Salamander infographic map

The applications outline Salamander’s plans for the onshore components of its proposed development. The first submission has been made to Aberdeenshire Council for the onshore substation and associated infrastructure and has been accepted. The second, to the Energy Consents Unit of the Scottish Government for the wind farm’s energy balancing infrastructure includes a battery storage that will help to balance the electricity grid,

This is a key step in the project’s timeline as the focus turns to the onshore elements of the development, which will generate enough green energy to power 100,000 Scottish homes if permitted.

Hugh Yendole, Project Director for Salamander said: “This project will generate a huge amount of energy for the country and presents key benefits to those in the local community and the supply chain.

“The opportunity is clear. The Scottish Government has the power to unlock the potential capability of floating offshore wind in our country and support Scotland becoming the global leader in floating offshore wind.

“The onshore applications present our plans for the onshore facilities required for our project. Both are key areas of our development and support our vision for green energy. At each stage we have encouraged and incorporated feedback from our stakeholders, and we will continue to work with them throughout the approval process.”

These applications follow on from the offshore consent applications which were submitted in April this year which outlined the requirements for the offshore elements of the 100 MW project.

The Salamander project was a successful Innovation bidder in Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round, signing an Exclusivity Agreement for a seabed lease in May last year. The INTOG round awarded Exclusivity Agreements to two types of projects – small scale innovation projects of less than 100 MW, and larger projects aiming to decarbonise oil and gas infrastructure. Salamander bid for and won an Exclusivity Agreement under the innovation category.

If granted consent by Scottish Government and Local Authorities, Salamander will give the Scottish floating wind supply chain a major early capability development opportunity, supporting its scale-up ahead of the pipeline of projects leased under the ScotWind and INTOG seabed leasing rounds. 

For more information, contact: Chloe Martin at BIG Partnership, chloe.martin@bigpartnership.co.uk

About Salamander Floating Offshore Wind

The 100 MW Salamander floating wind project, a joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, will be a major contributor to ensuring the UK government’s target of delivering 5 GW of operational floating offshore wind by 2030 is both achievable and to the maximum benefit of public and private stakeholders.

The pioneering project, located 35 km off Peterhead on the East Coast of Scotland, is designed to provide the Scottish supply chain with an early capacity development opportunity, enabling it to play a much greater role in subsequent large-scale floating offshore wind buildout. 

The project will deploy innovative and cutting-edge floating offshore wind technologies to support the cost reduction and learning journey needed for the commercial deployment of floating offshore wind.

In May 2023, Salamander signed an exclusivity agreement as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round.

The 100 MW project will be a contributor in the delivery of the Scottish Government’s target 11 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and the UK Government’s target of 5 GW of operational floating offshore wind by the same date.

Further information concerning the proposed floating offshore wind farm can be found at: www.salamanderfloatingwind.com

About Ørsted

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Globally, Ørsted is the market leader in offshore wind and it is constructing the world’s biggest offshore wind farms off the UK’s East Coast.

Ørsted is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A-List as a global leader on climate action and was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs approx. 8,000 people, including over 1,100 in the UK.

Visit orsted.co.uk or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

About Simply Blue Group  

Simply Blue Group, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, is a leading renewable energy developer with a focus on replacing fossil fuels with clean energy. It develops pioneering renewable energy projects both offshore and onshore wind, sustainable fuels, and low-impact aquaculture – all in harmony with the oceans and the land. The company has a global pipeline of 10 GW of floating offshore wind projects and 4 GW of Fixed Bottom Wind and is committed to also developing competitive sustainable fuels projects in Canada, Ireland and Australia which will use green energy to produce sustainable fuels targeted at aviation and marine transport.

Simply Blue Group is committed to creating new local economic opportunities and develop projects that can co-exist with local communities.

With an experienced and passionate team, Simply Blue Group has offices in Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Newquay, Pembrokeshire, Edinburgh, Bilbao, and Nova Scotia.

To find out more about us, please visit www.simplybluegroup.com

About Subsea7

Subsea7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the energy industry.  Subsea7 makes offshore energy transition possible through the continuous evolution of lower-carbon oil and gas and by enabling the growth of renewables and emerging energy. It creates sustainable value by delivering the offshore energy transition solutions the world needs, for today and tomorrow.

To find out more visit www.subsea7.com or Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.