The Scottish Government has set a new ambition to increase offshore wind capacity to 11GW of energy installed by 2030. The aim of substantially increasing the offshore wind capacity in Scottish waters supports the delivery of Scotland’s 2017 Energy Strategy and the decarbonisation of heat and transport and has been agreed following an extensive consultation with industry, stakeholders, coastal communities and environmental organisations.
As well as outlining the economic opportunities offshore wind presents, the Scottish Government has also adopted a plan identifying suitable areas for commercial-scale offshore wind projects. This will inform the first seabed leasing process led by the newly devolved Crown Estate Scotland. Currently Scotland has 5.6GW of consented offshore capacity, of which 1GW is operational.
