The largest planned wind farm in the UK – and one of the largest anywhere in the world – is stuck in planning limbo, with inaction by the Scottish Government holding back thousands of jobs and billions in investment.
Berwick Bank, SSE Renewables’ 4GW capacity offshore wind development off Scotland’s east coast, has now been awaiting a decision from Scottish Ministers for two years – prompting industry calls for John Swinney to intervene personally to speed up consent.
The 1GW Seagreen windfarm off the Angus coast is currently the largest operational project in Scotland. Berwick Bank, four times the size, would increase Scotland’s renewable energy capacity by nearly a third, creating over 4,500 jobs and boosting the UK economy by £8.3 billion.
In last week’s Scottish Budget, Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced plans for a new offshore wind hub in the North-East to streamline planning processes to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind.
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Russell Borthwick said: “This isn’t an anniversary that the Scottish Government should be proud of.
“We have in Berwick Bank an offshore wind project of transformative scale, which will benefit Scotland’s economy, create jobs and give confidence to our energy supply chain.
“No country can be taken seriously in its commitment to the energy transition unless we’re consenting projects of this nature at pace.
“Talk about ‘streamlining’ the process is all well and good, but if plans are left gathering dust on a civil servants’ desk for two years, then questions must be asked.
“As Scotland marks two years since the Section 36 application for Berwick Bank was submitted, the First Minister should roll up his sleeves and intervene – put the project to the top of his in-tray, grant consent and give Scotland’s clean energy sector an early Christmas present and some much-needed confidence.”