An enduring solution to transmission charging is fundamental to unlocking the potential of Scotland’s offshore wind industry, writes Stuart McAuley, Project Director of the West of Orkney Windfarm.

2025 is going to be a pivotal year – not just for the West of Orkney Windfarm, but also for the UK’s offshore wind industry.

Britain’s world-leading net zero aspirations rely on offshore wind generation to do a lot of the heavy lifting, with ambitious targets for 2030 and beyond.

For offshore wind, 2030 is very close indeed, and the West of Orkney Windfarm is lining up as one of a small number of projects which can generate first power by that critical date.

Our two-gigawatt, fixed bottom project is moving at pace.

In 2023, we became the first ScotWind proposal to submit both our offshore consent application to Scottish Ministers and our onshore planning application to The Highland Council, and this summer the windfarm’s onshore plans were approved.

Already the project comprises more than 80 team members across technical, commercial and financial roles alongside numerous dedicated suppliers and sub-contractors – ranging from small firms locally to major multi-national concerns.

In the autumn our geotechnical and geophysical campaigns were completed successfully, carried out by Geo and GEOxyz, whilst Ramboll has been contracted to deliver Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) services including designs for both monopile and jacket foundation and to identify potential supply chain options for the manufacturing of fixed-bottom foundations and CAPEX estimations for fabrication.

Supply chain

We have already significantly progressed our supply chain activities.

Our turbine tender has been running for the past 12 months, and we have also launched cable calls for tender as well as electrical system calls for tender in this period.

Much of our tendering is joint with Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind (ODOW), with whom we share major shareholders Corio Generation and TotalEnergies, and is purposely accelerated to allow both projects to meet the target of first power by 2030.

Our third shareholder is Scottish developer Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG).

The next major package that will be tendered is the foundations, this will be for either monopile or jackets dependant on the outcome of engineering works.

This joint approach with ODOW gives both parties the option to contract singly or in parallel, dependent on the responses we receive.

Investment to date

To date, the project has invested significantly into the UK economy, and we’ve committed to a £105 million investment initiative during the initial phase of the project to develop the supply chain that will be enhanced to at least £140 million by match funding from third parties.

This investment will drive skills development and create opportunities for businesses and organisations in Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney, across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Already the West of Orkney Windfarm supports a number of initiatives in the north of Scotland, including a £1 million research and development programme being led by  the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, a £1.2m education initiative led by the University of the Highlands and Islands, a £125,000 Fit 4 Renewables scheme led by ORE Catapult and £50,000 to support local apprentices in Caithness and north Sutherland.

Transmission charging

Of course, all of the above-mentioned activity is just the start of what a successful project will bring, but hurdles remain.

Offshore consent is the next piece in the puzzle, with Marine Scotland currently considering our revised offshore plans. Timely consent will be key – opening the door to future CfD auction rounds.

We believe the West of Orkney is a well-located, consentable scheme, which can deliver first power by 2030. But to do this, government must play its part and make decisions in good time.

However, transmission charging remains a significant barrier. The predicted cost to connect in the far north of Scotland is now well above even the high levels envisaged at the start of the ScotWind process and without a pragmatic solution to create a level playing field, many if not all projects in the north of Scotland are in peril.

We are now working closely with other developers in Scotland and officials in London to define an appropriate mechanism which offers a level of certainty to developers for the duration of their projects.

Finding a solution is fundamental to the development of Scottish offshore wind assets, both those in development as well as those in production. On that basis, we are confident a timely solution will be found that allows West of Orkney and other Scottish projects to compete fairly in upcoming CfD auction rounds.

Get this right, and the West of Orkney Windfarm will be a pioneering project which will underpin new investment in ports and manufacturing capability in Scotland and will offer long-term skilled jobs and economic activity to people and communities in the county’s far north.

There is a lot to play for, and an enduring solution to transmission charging will be key.