Leading engineering and environmental professional services consultancy WSP is to assess the environmental impact of two proposed offshore floating windfarms secured as part of the Scotwind leasing process in Scotland on behalf of ScottishPower Renewables and Shell.
The two projects, MarramWind and CampionWind, would be among the world’s first large-scale commercial floating offshore windfarms and could bring enough clean energy to power the equivalent of more than six million UK homes.
The commission was originally awarded to Wood Group’s Environment & Infrastructure (Wood E&I) business and will now be undertaken by WSP following the completion of its acquisition of Wood E&I.
To support the development and delivery of the offshore wind projects, WSP will provide key front-end services, including Environmental Impact Assessment, stakeholder engagement and consultation support, advising on onshore works as well as supporting wider consents and licensing requirements.
Offshore wind is expected to be a major contributor to the UK’s energy transition. Earlier this year, the UK Government committed to deliver up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, including 5GW of innovative floating wind.
Ian Cromie, Senior Vice President for Environment and Infrastructure at WSP, said: “It’s fantastic to be supporting ScottishPower and Shell on these innovative clean energy projects. This will be a step-change in the future of large-scale, offshore floating windfarms and the technology and the will to see projects like these come to fruition is accelerating.
“The contract builds on Wood E&I’s extensive track record of supporting offshore wind and other major infrastructure projects from an environmental, engineering and technical perspective in the development phase and through the project lifecycle globally.”
Richard Eakin, Project Director for MarramWind and CampionWind, said: “We’re really pleased to have WSP on board, bringing its industry expertise and knowledge to help us deliver these exciting projects, which will help transform the offshore wind industry and have the potential to power the equivalent of more than six million homes with clean, green electricity.
“This contract award also highlights the potential supply chain opportunities our ScotWind projects will offer and we look forward to working with companies across the supply chain to deliver jobs, investment and a clean energy future for us all.”
Barry Cowell, Head of Earth and Environment at WSP, said: “As the UK works to develop its offshore wind capacity to deliver our energy transition and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it will be essential that these initiatives simultaneously protect the habitats and environments in which they are built.
“With the expertise of Wood E&I now part of WSP, this is an exciting period of growth for our business, and we’re excited to be working on sector-leading projects like MarramWind and CampionWind, to deliver a clean future for communities in Scotland and across the UK.”
ENDS
