The Scottish government has authorised the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth with a capacity of 1,116 Megawatts, enough to supply 700,000 homes.
The project will be undertaken by Portugal’s EDP Renewables in a joint venture with Repsol Nuevas Energias from Spain.
João Manso Neto, The €560,000-a-year President of EDP Renewables, said that "this project will supply the UK at a time when many thermal electric power plants are nearing the end of their lives, generation capacity is decreasing and oil prices are rising. It will provide greater security of supply and greater independence for consumers given the volatility of fossil fuel prices."
This wind ‘megapark’ will involve the installation of 62 turbines of 6MW to 8MW capacity. The total area covered by the project is 295 square kilometres, 22 kilometres from the coast of Scotland.
2,400 jobs will be created during peak construction work. During the operational lifetime of the project it is estimated that 330 jobs in operations and maintenance activities will be maintained.
