Mark Latham, Deputy Business Editor
Plans to build what could be Scotland’s first major offshore wind farm took
a step forward on Tuesday with the announcement that an equity consortium
is now in place to build the massive £2 billion Neart na Gaoithe development.
Global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power is in exclusive
discussions with the equity consortium which is led by power company
InterGen, whose European headquarters are in Edinburgh.
The consortium – which includes Siemens Project Ventures, The Marguerite
Fund and Infrared Capital – would take the proposed 450-megawatt wind farm
off the coast of Fife to financial close and to construction.
Located in the Outer Forth Estuary, the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm
secured a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) subsidy from the UK’s
National Grid last year which will assure the wind farm an inflation-linked
strike price for electricity produced.
In October Scottish Ministers awarded offshore planning consent and the
project is expected to be fully commissioned and generating electricity by
2020, subject to the outcome of a judicial review lodged by the RSBP, which
is currently under consideration by the Scottish courts.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Scottish Renewables Offshore Wind Conference in
Glasgow, Mainstream’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Kinsella said that the
wind farm would create over 500 jobs during construction and over 100
permanent jobs during its 25-year operational phase.
“More than £540 million will be directly spent in Scotland during the
construction phase and a further £610m will be spent during the operational
phase,” he said.
“All the building blocks are now in place to deliver this power plant into
operation by 2020.
“All consents have been received; the CfD was awarded; the technology and
construction contractors are in place and, very significantly, the required
debt funding for the project has been sourced from commercial banks.”
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