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Adam welcomes 'massive investment' in new offshore wind farm projects


By Alan Beresford

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NEW Scottish offshore wind developments have been welcomed by a north-east MSP.

Karen Adam, SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast.
Karen Adam, SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast.

A total of 17 new offshore wind projects have been announced as part of the ScotWind auction, which have a combined potential capacity to generate up to 25GW (gigawatts) of energy. The current capacity of offshore wind in Scotland is almost 2GW – and another 8.4GW in construction or advanced development.

Scotland’s biggest existing offshore wind farm – Moray East, in the Outer Moray Firth – is Scotland’s single largest source of renewable energy, and has a capacity of 0.95GW (950 megawatts). This is enough to power about 650,000 homes.

News of the new wind farms has been welcomed by Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam, whose recent enquiry to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) revealed “the scale of proposed investment” for offshore wind “is significant and far exceeds expectations.”

She said: “This is a massive investment for the future of the north-east.

"Scotland’s renewables potential is absolutely incredible and this investment in our green future will ensure we continue to lead the world in combatting the climate emergency.

“Scotland has already made strides in decarbonising energy consumption, with over 95 per cent of our gross electricity demand being met by renewable sources.

“This announcement is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the economic benefits this will bring to the north-east. Long term, this will pour billions of pounds into the regional economy and bring thousands of jobs.

“I’m delighted with how this project is developing, and as the MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, I will continue to do everything I can to support more jobs and sustainability in the north-east.”

Ms Adam went on to say that Scotland has around 25 per cent of Europe’s entire offshore wind potential, and is fast becoming the centre for renewable energy innovation – with the world’s first floating wind farm being installed in Scotland in 2017.

She added that the announcement marked a big step on Scotland’s path to net zero, helping the country reach the target of 50 per cent overall energy consumption from renewables by 2030 while also delivering around £700 million straight to the Scottish Government.


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