Fred Olsen Seawind and Vattenfall have submitted two key consent applications for their major 1GW Muir Mhor floating offshore wind farm.
These include both the applications for the offshore site and transmission infrastructure and the onshore transmission.
The move follows a 12-month period of consultation with local communities and stakeholders.
According to the documents, the developers envision using a maximum of 67 wind turbines for the project, along with associated floating foundations, mooring and anchoring systems.
There will also be up to two offshore substation platforms which will be installed on fixed foundations. The offshore export cables will run from these before making landfall just north of Peterhead.
The onshore components include landfall infrastructure, onshore cables, onshore substation and a connection to the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Netherton Hub.
SSEN put in a planning application for the site, to be based west of Peterhead, near Flushing and Longside, last month. The substation hub is part of the company’s £20 billion ‘Pathway to 2030’ investment programme.
The Muir Mhor floating offshore wind farm will be located off the east coast of Scotland, around 40 miles (63km) from the coast of Peterhead.
If the consent applications are approved in the next nine to 12 months by the Scottish Government and Aberdeenshire Council, construction on Muir Mhor could start in 2029 ahead of completion in 2032.
Muir Mhor offshore wind farm project director David Hinshelwood said: “We have listened closely to those impacted by our development and made adjustments to our applications, taking on board their feedback and the sensitivities they have raised, and trust this is reflected in the planning determinations.
“We are the first fully floating offshore wind farm from the 2022 ScotWind leasing round to reach the point of both offshore and onshore applications.
“In doing so, we are supporting the ambitions of governments in Scotland and the UK to be a world leader in floating offshore wind, and a clean energy superpower.”
The Muir Mhor developers offered over £12m of supply chain contracts last year, inviting prospective suppliers to bid.
The developers’ supply chain commitments infer a spend of around £273m in Scotland alone, and roughly the same again across the rest of the UK.
According to the developers, around 40% of its total contracted spend to date has been awarded to local suppliers and contractors.
In total, around £15.7 million in development-related contracts has been awarded throughout the UK, of which £6.31m has gone to Scottish-based suppliers.
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