Leading developers and owners of offshore wind projects Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Plenitude (Eni) and HitecVision, and Flotation Energy have been awarded exclusivity by Crown Estate Scotland for areas to develop a total of up to 1.9 GW of floating offshore wind capacity across two projects, Green Volt and Cenos.
The awards are made under Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round for offshore wind projects that provide low-carbon electricity to oil and gas platforms.
The successful bid means that the Green Volt and Cenos windfarms could begin generating first power from 2027 and 2028 respectively, making them the most advanced projects for electrification and decarbonisation of oil and gas platforms with floating offshore wind in Europe.
The power and grid-connection supplied through Green Volt and Cenos windfarms will provide renewable energy to oil and gas platforms in the surrounding areas, replacing power currently generated by gas turbines. Simultaneously, up to 7 TWh of energy from the projects will be supplied to the UK grid annually, providing consumers with renewable electricity. Overall, the projects are estimated to cut emissions by 3 million tonnes of carbon each year while supporting the commercialisation of floating offshore wind technology.
By securing area exclusivity in the INTOG round, the Green Volt and Cenos projects are positioned to spark a local supply chain for floating offshore wind to develop in Scotland, also providing significant contributions to Scotland’s 2045 Net Zero target, and The North Sea Transition Deal’s goal to halve offshore emissions by 2030.
Vårgrønn and Flotation Energy are delighted that the Crown Estate have recognised the quality of their applications for both Green Volt and Cenos and they now have the opportunity to enter into Exclusivity Agreements for these highly ambitious projects and continue the dialogue with the stakeholders necessary to bring these projects to fruition.
