Plans move ahead for major wind development

Plans are moving ahead for a major wind project in the North Sea off Aberdeen.

BP and German energy company EnBW were last year awarded a ScotWind lease option for the Morven development.

The fixed-bottom project will have a total generating capacity of around 2.9 gigawatts - sufficient to power more than three million homes.

BP said last year that the success of the Morven bid was expected to unlock a number of investments as part of its integrated energy company approach, leveraging its existing North Sea infrastructure, skills and relationships and EnBW’s experience in offshore wind.

Along with the offshore wind development, these investments include significant expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Scotland and green hydrogen production.

These represent up to £10billion of investment in support of offshore wind and Scotland’s energy transition.

BP and EnBW have taken taking premises in Edinburgh which will become a base for Morven.

The partners will also bring a remote operating control centre to Aberdeen for their joint UK wind projects, of which there are three in development.

These are Morgan and Mona in the Irish Sea, and Morven.

The office in central Edinburgh will bring the team behind Morven closer to key stakeholders such as the Port of Leith.

Last year, BP and EnBW signed a reservation agreement for Leith to be the marshalling port for Morven, which will be nearly 40 miles offshore.

Richard Haydock, Project Director, Offshore Wind BP, said: “BP has a long and proud history in Scotland through our oil and gas business headquartered in Aberdeen.

“We continue to see huge potential for Aberdeen which will become BP’s global operations and maintenance centre of excellence for offshore wind.

“The expansion of our footprint to Edinburgh for our Morven project not only reaffirms our commitment to Scotland where we’re investing in ports, shipbuilding, and skills, but provides another hub for BP and EnBW to build and strengthen our partnership.”

The facilities in Edinburgh and Aberdeen are expected to create up to 120 new direct jobs.

Alex Schneeweiss, Project Director for Morven with EnBW, added: “The opening of the Morven joint-venture office marks a ‘first’ for EnBW in Scotland.

“We are delighted to come to Edinburgh. It is the ideal place with proximity to key stakeholders and partners, as well as a strong talent pool to further grow the BP and EnBW team to successfully deliver our Morven project.”