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 been awarded Planning Permission in Principle for the onshore aspects of its proposed floating development, located 35 km off Peterhead on the East Coast of Scotland.
The submission was made to Aberdeenshire Council for the onshore substation and associated infrastructure in August 2024 under the Town and Country Planning Act (Scotland) 1997. A second application, 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, has now been validated and is progressing through assessment. Salamander is also awaiting a decision from the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate on their Section 36 award for the offshore array and associated licenses.
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 once operational.
Hugh Yendole, Project Director for Salamander said: "We are incredibly proud to have secured an almost-unheard-of unanimous approval in record time - only 7 months after submission. We have achieved a number of significant 'firsts' with this consent - the first combined onshore substation and battery consent and the first consent of any of the innovation projects awarded exclusivity agreements under INTOG.
"It is also worth noting that the joint venture team that delivered this consent did so under somewhat challenging conditions, especially differentiating Salamander's low-impact grid connection from the profusion of GW-scale infrastructure that is planned.
"It's a testament to the dedicated professionals in the Salamander project team that plotted the path to consent and delivered one of -if not- the best onshore consent applications that I have seen. The Planning Committee agreed."
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm 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 2023. The INTOG round awarded Exclusivity Agreements for seabed leases for two types of projects - small scale floating wind innovation projects of up to 100 MW, and larger projects aiming to decarbonise oil and gas infrastructure. Salamander bid for and won an Exclusivity Agreement under the innovation category.
When remaining consents are granted by Scottish Government, Salamander will support the scale-up of the Scottish floating wind supply chain, helping to derisk the INTOG and ScotWind pipelines so Scotland can seize the economic opportunity on offer
Figure 1: Scotstown Beach between Lunderton and Kirkton. Note that none of the proposed infrastructure on the beach will be visible once completed.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For more information, contact: Rory Riddoch at BIG Partnership, rory.riddoch@bigpartnership.co.uk
About Salamander Offshore Wind Farm
The 100 MW Salamander offshore wind farm, 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.
Rory Riddoch
Account Executive
01224 211045
+44 7710 305352
