The team behind a major floating offshore wind project off the coast of Aberdeen is to display its early-stage proposal in two public consultation events in Peterhead and Longside on 15 and 16 November.
Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm, a joint venture between two renewable leaders Fred. Olsen Seawind and Vattenfall, was awarded seabed rights in the historic 2022 ScotWind lease auction by Crown Estate Scotland.
The proposed offshore wind farm, located approximately 63 kilometres from the coast of Peterhead, is being developed as a highly innovative floating offshore wind farm which, when delivered, will be able to generate up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of power – enough to provide electricity for up to 850,000 UK homes annually, and putting the UK on track to hit its target to generate 5GW from floating offshore wind by 2030.
Having undertaken initial ecological and environmental survey works both onshore and offshore, the Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm project team is now inviting the local community to view an early-stage proposal at its forthcoming community consultation exhibitions which will take place in Peterhead and Longside later this month:
Tuesday 15 November – 1pm-7pm, Peterhead Football Club, Balmoor Terrace, Peterhead AB42 1EQ
Wednesday 16 November – 2pm-7pm, Longside Parish Church Hall, 4-13 Inn Brae, Longside AB42 4XN
The public consultation exhibitions will display the initial proposals for offshore and infrastructure, 3D visualisations outlining how the development could look, and will provide a key opportunity for the local community to meet the project team and provide feedback.
David Hinshelwood, Project Director for Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm, said:
“We are committed to developing Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm as a project that directly supports communities and the energy transition in the North East of Scotland, creating job and training opportunities, enabling skills development, and actively contributing to the development of a world-class Scottish supply chain.
“Early consultation with the local community is hugely important, so that we can understand local priorities and take a people-centred approach to the Muir Mhòr project.
“I hope that many residents and community representatives are able to join us at our forthcoming public consultation exhibitions to learn about the project, meet our team, and provide valued feedback which will be central to our development of the project.”
Since launching the project in 2022, Muir Mhòr Offshore Wind Farm has awarded nearly £4 million in development contracts and it is actively working to unlock STEM skills opportunities in the North East of Scotland through its support for Xodus’ X-Academy, the UHI Future Leaders Fund and other community initiatives. A further £12 million of supply chain contracts are currently being sought, with a key project ambition being to stimulate growth within the domestic supply chain and realise local opportunities as far as possible.
