Marine Licence application submitted for Green Volt floating offshore windfarm to support decarbonisation of the oil and gas sector in Scotland
Press release – 10 February 2023
10 February 2023 – Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn, leading developers and owners of offshore wind projects, have submitted a Marine Licence application for the Green Volt floating offshore windfarm. This consent application could allow the project to start generating power in the mid-2020s, making it the most advanced oil and gas decarbonisation project in the UK. Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn are applying for a lease for Green Volt under the Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) round.
Located 80km east, offshore from Peterhead, the Green Volt project will use up to 35 floating wind turbines to deliver 500 MW of renewable energy. This project has the potential to generate enough green power to electrify all major oil and gas platforms in the Outer Moray Firth area. The project will also deliver renewable electricity to consumers across the UK.
Offering affordable and reliable electrification from 2026, the Green Volt floating offshore windfarm will enable oil and gas operators to play a critical role in the energy transition. The project will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas platforms, saving over a million tonnes of carbon each year.
Green Volt will support The North Sea Transition Deal’s goal to halve offshore emissions by 2030, as well as making a significant contribution to meeting Scotland’s 2045 Net Zero target.
Nicol Stephen, CEO of Flotation Energy said:
“The Green Volt project will play a critical role in the electrification and decarbonisation of offshore oil and gas platforms in Scotland. We have been actively developing the project since 2020 and this consent application is a major milestone. It keeps us on track to deliver renewable power to the oil and gas sector by 2026.
If these projects are not delivering green electricity to offshore facilities by the mid-2020s there is a real risk they will never happen. The prize is a very big one. The reduction in offshore carbon emissions will be enormous. As well as tackling climate change, the project will lead to billions of pounds of new investment and thousands of skilled jobs.”
Olav Hetland, CEO of Vårgrønn, said: “The combination of our companies’ experience across floating offshore wind, large-scale renewable energy projects and working with the oil and gas industry is what lends unique strength to our Green Volt project.
If awarded the opportunity, we will bring green energy to the market swiftly while investing in building a local supply chain. To ensure we stand ready to deliver as quickly as possible if we succeed with our INTOG bid, we are applying for the Marine Licence for the project already now.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor
Flotation Energy is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has been a significant contributor to building a strong offshore wind industry in the UK and beyond. Flotation Energy has a growing project pipeline, managing 13GW of offshore wind projects in the UK, Ireland, Taiwan, Japan and Australia; and plans to expand into many more key markets. The expertise of the Flotation Energy team lies in the project and engineering management of large infrastructure projects. Flotation Energy have developed their own projects but also recognise the benefits of collaboration and working in partnership with other developers to deliver proven, cost-effective solutions.
Vårgrønn is an agile, Norway-based pure-play offshore wind company owned by the global energy company Plenitude (Eni) and the Norwegian energy entrepreneur and investor HitecVision. Vårgrønn was established by Eni and HitecVision in 2020 to actively participate in the energy transition, building on their long-term partnership from jointly developing Vår Energi to become a value accretive cooperation and one of the largest oil and gas companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Vårgrønn holds a 20 percent interest in the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank (UK) and are developing both floating and bottom-fixed offshore wind projects in Norway.