Contract awarded to build one of world’s largest offshore wind farms in Scotland

The UK Government has awarded a contract to build one of the world's largest offshore wind farms off the coast of East Lothian.  

The Berwick Bank wind farm in the outer of the Firth of Forth will be constructed by SSE and will feature 307 turbines generating enough electricity to power up to six million homes.  

The 4.1GW project represents almost half of the energy production capacity that has been secured in the latest record-breaking auction round for offshore wind projects in the UK.  

SSE estimates that the construction will be worth up to £6bn to the UK economy.

Berwick Bank, which is the first offshore wind farm to be awarded a contract since 2022, is one of 12 developments granted by the government across Scotland, England and Wales, which together will provide the UK’s energy supply with a further 8.4GW.  

The UK Government claims this auction round has put the UK back on track to achieve its clean power target by 2030. However, some analysts have suggested that it will still struggle to meet the goal.  

According to the government, the cost of building and operating a new gas-fired power station is £147 per megawatt hour, whereas the results for fixed offshore wind in this auction round were £90.91 - 40 per cent cheaper than new gas stations.  

Energy minister Michael Shanks described Berwick Bank as “a monumental result”.

He said: “This is a monumental result that sees the first Scottish offshore wind project since 2022 securing support from our flagship renewables auction, putting us firmly on track to meet our clean power mission and supporting thousands of jobs.”

The Scottish Government has welcomed the development but argues that more Scottish-based projects should have been awarded contracts.  

Scotland’s energy secretary Gillian Martin described it as a “missed opportunity”, adding that the UK's budget for the projects was limited and argued that “unfair” transmission charges put Scottish projects at a competitive disadvantage.

Martin called on the UK Government to support the Scottish projects she says were eligible for a contract but were unsuccessful in the next round.  

Chris Stark, who is overseeing the government’s endeavours to reach its 2030 clean power goal, said it “is a stonking result for delivering on our mission for clean power by 2030”.  

He added: “Amid global headwinds and pressures facing the offshore wind sector in recent years, we’ve secured a record amount of capacity at a competitive price for the consumer.  

“We need more offshore wind to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the years ahead, this result powers us towards a future of clean, secure, energy abundance and less reliance on foreign imports.”