The Scottish government has given SSE Plc consent to build what would be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm.
The Berwick Bank wind farm, located off the eastern coast of Scotland, could provide power to 6 million homes. The 4.1 gigawatt project has been in development for about a decade and this was the final major stage before it can start bidding for government subsidies in the next wind auction starting in August.
The project could be crucial to the UK’s ability to meet a goal to almost completely decarbonize the power grid by 2030. But its construction also risks adding further costs to consumer bills, already among the highest in the world, as it would likely exacerbate costly constraints on the nation’s electric grid and drive further investments to alleviate them.
The move comes just after a visit to Scotland by US President Donald Trump who voiced his dislike of wind farms, especially ones off the coast of his golf courses there. While Scotland is pivoting from an oil past to lead the world in wind energy, Trump insisted that Aberdeen was the “oil capital of Europe,” and pushed for more expansion in that sector.
Berwick Bank could bring GBP 8.3 billion of value into the UK economy and create 9,300 jobs, the company said in a statement. Scotland would benefit from 4,650 of these jobs.
UK-based utility SSE said in a statement that it plans to bid into an upcoming government auction to subsidize new renewable energy projects. If it wins at that auction, the project would be able to sell power at fixed prices for a period of 20 years. Any subsidies it receives during that period would be paid by levies on consumers’ bills.
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