Berwick Bank wind farm secures 'monumental' UK contract backing in huge Scottish energy boost

The award for the ‘B’ part of the Berwick Bank wind farm has been labelled a “monumental result” after being successful in the award round 7 (AR7) of the UK government’s contract for difference.

But the SNP government has warned that “much more could have been achieved at this pivotal moment” from Labour ministers, branding it a “missed opportunity”.

The Berwick Bank wind farm, located about 24 miles from the Scottish coast in East Lothian, will have an estimated capacity of 4.1GW, which could generate enough electricity each year to power every household in Scotland twice over.

If fully delivered, Berwick Bank would become the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Up to 307 turbines could be constructed across an area four times the size of Edinburgh. The developers, SSE Renewables, stressed the project had the potential to inject around £8 billion into the UK economy and create more than 9,000 jobs.

READ MORE: 'Catastrophic': Fears Berwick Bank wind farm will 'catapult seabird species towards extinction'

It would stand about 20 miles from the globally recognised seabird colonies of St Abb’s and Bass Rock, the latter being internationally known for its famous gannet colony. Wildlife campaigners raised fears the development could cause “catastrophic” harm, when it was approved by SNP ministers in August last year.

SSE will now progress Berwick Bank B towards a final investment decision.

The contract for difference process sees developers bid to secure a fixed price they can charge for each megawatt hour (MWh) of power they generate, and ministers have offered an initial cash pot of £1.08 billion annually to support projects in this round.

The UK government investment will likely strengthen the case for Vestas, which has proposed to open a wind turbine blade factory in Leith, to press ahead with a final investment decision.

The Pentland floating offshore wind project, which could generate up to 100MW of clean energy, has also been successful in winning a contract for difference.

The project, being developed by funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners off the coast of Dounreay, would have capacity to power up to 70, 000 homes.  It has previously received financial support from Great British Energy, the National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank.

READ MORE: SNP warns Scottish snub in UK wind contracts would be 'devasting' for economy and green jobs

Overall, the results deliver the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in British and European history.

SNP Energy Secretary, Gillian Martin, has warned that despite the two Scottish projects being successful, “much more could have been achieved at this pivotal moment”.

She added: “These projects are important for unlocking economic benefits and driving innovation in the sector, and will play a key role in delivering Scotland’s and the UK’s energy security. Unfortunately though, once again, this also represents a missed opportunity.

“We have repeatedly warned that a limited AR7 budget and unfair transmission charges would put Scottish projects at a competitive disadvantage, despite holding more than a third of the total UK offshore wind pipeline.

“These results clearly demonstrate the impact of the UK government decisions not to address the unfair and disproportionate transmission charges to ensure level a playing field for Scottish projects. This must be fundamentally changed ahead of Allocation Round 8 (AR8).”

Chief executive of industry body, Scottish Renewables, Claire Mack, said it was “hugely encouraging” for Berwick Bank to be successful.

But she warned the project “is the only fixed bottom project to be awarded a CfD”.

Ms Mack added: “It connects into a significantly lower cost transmission zone in the south of Scotland compared to other eligible projects which missed out that would have connected into those much higher prices zones in the north”.

“While this outcome is welcome news for consumers, achieving a lower-cost, secure, stable and geographically diversified energy system in the long term requires a fairer approach to connecting projects to the grid and enabling them to deliver power, regardless of where they are located.”

Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband said: “With these results, Britain is taking back control of our energy sovereignty.

“This is a historic win for those who want Britain to stand on our own two feet, controlling our own energy rather than depending on markets controlled by petrostates and dictators.

“It is a monumental step towards clean power by 2030 and the price secured in this auction is 40 per cent lower than the alternative cost of building and operating a new gas plant.

“Clean, homegrown, power is the right choice for this country to bring down bills for good and this auction will create thousands of jobs throughout Britain.”

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “This is a monumental result that sees the first Scottish offshore wind project since 2022 securing support from our flagship renewables auction, putting us firmly on track to meet our clean power mission and supporting thousands of jobs.

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“It also shows the kind of energy system we want to build for Scotland. By agreeing a price for offshore wind that is far lower than the cost of building new gas. Clean power is the right choice to get bills down for good.”