ScotWind was the first round of offshore wind leasing round in Scottish waters for a decade. It resulted in 20 projects securing seabed option agreements.
The Rapid Review was an evidence-based process undertaken in 2021 to help ensure ScotWind represented a competitive investment opportunity that would result in a strong pipeline of offshore wind projects.
The application window for registered applicants opened in January 2021 and closed in July 2021.
Following evaluation of the bids, option agreements were offered to the successful parties in January 2022 and confirmed as signed in April 2022.
The ScotWind Leasing clearing process opened in April 2022 with Option Agreements being offered in August 2022 and confirmed as signed in November 2022.
Options were awarded to an initial 17 projects following the leasing process.
A further three options were awarded following the completion of the clearing process
Details of the Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) for each of the 20 successful projects can be accessed using the list below:
A range of reports and publications relating to ScotWind are available through our Resources page.
A number of media releases and news stories were published over the life of the ScotWind project. These are listed below in chronological order:
2018
2019
2020
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ScotWind Leasing: updated statement on supply chain measures
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Crown Estate Scotland statement on ScotWind Leasing and COVID-19
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Green light for multi-billion pound investment in Scotland’s net zero economy
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ScotWind Leasing: registration closed, clarifications now published
2021
2022
A number of Freedom of Information requests were made about ScotWind during the project and following its conclusion.
What was ScotWind?
The ScotWind leasing process enabled developers to apply for seabed rights to plan and then build windfarms in Scottish waters.
As much as 27.6GW of new generating capacity will be built over the next decade as a result.
The term 'ScotWind’ is now used to refer to the leasing process that we carried out plus the projects that developers are progressing.
What are the benefits of ScotWind?
To prevent the most harmful climate change scenarios from coming true, we need to substantially reduce our carbon emissions.
Scotland’s target is to reach net zero emissions by 2045 – and if developers can generate up to 27.6GW of new, clean energy from ScotWind projects, it will make a big contribution to reaching that target.
Wind farm projects also offer opportunities for business: their construction, operation and maintenance could bring billions of pounds in investment and new jobs to Scotland.
As well as stimulating supply chain investment, creating jobs and producing lots of green energy, ScotWind developers pay Crown Estate Scotland for use of the seabed. In turn, we pass profits to Scottish Government for spending on services across Scotland.
