Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd. (“MORL”), the joint venture company owned by EDP Renewables and SeaEnergy Renewables, have signed three Agreements for Lease with The Crown Estate Commissioners which will lead to further development of offshore wind power generation at three sites in the outer Moray Firth.
The proposed sites are all within the Eastern Development area of Zone 1 of The Crown Estate’s Third Round Offshore Wind Leasing Programme, awarded to MORL in January 2010, and will be named after Scottish Engineers: Robert Stevenson, Edward MacColl and Thomas Telford.
The three sites are expected to have a capacity of 1,000-1,140 MW (approximately equal to that of a conventional thermal powerstation) and to supply enough power for around 750,000 homes. They are the first stage of a development which could deliver approximately 1,500 MW of total generating capacity.
The Agreements for Lease with The Crown Estate Commissioners are an important step to enabling the work necessary for the development to take place.
Project Director, Dan Finch said: “Since Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd was established almost a year ago we have made tremendous progress, including site investigations in the Outer Moray Firth, the development of engineering concepts, the publication of our Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report, and extensive public consultation.
“I am delighted that after a year of hard work, we are now in a position to sign Agreements for Lease with The Crown Estate Commissioners, which will eventually lead to long-term leases and the construction and commissioning of the offshore wind farms.
EDP Renewables’ Chief Business Development Officer, Luis Adão da Fonseca, said: “The support we have received around the Moray Firth has been extremely encouraging, and working together, EDPR and SeaEnergy Renewables have made excellent progress in acheiving this important milestone.
[mappress]
Source: morayoffshorerenewables, December 31, 2010