Crown Estate Scotland has chosen the projects that will participate in a leasing round designed to enable offshore wind energy to directly supply offshore oil and gas platforms.
Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing aims to attract investment in innovative offshore wind projects in Scottish waters, as well as help decarbonize North Sea operations.
The INTOG process allowed developers to apply for seabed rights to develop offshore wind projects that either reduce emissions from the North Sea oil and gas sector by supplying renewable electricity directly to oil and gas infrastructure or consist of small-scale innovative projects of 100 MW or less.
INTOG, which was designed in response to demand from government and industry to help achieve the targets of the North Sea Transition Sector Deal through decarbonizing North Sea oil and gas operations, will also further stimulate innovation in Scotland’s offshore wind sector, create additional supply chain opportunity, assist companies to enter the renewable energy market, and support net-zero ambitions.
The successful applicants have now been offered initial agreements – called exclusivity agreements – that, if they accept the offers and proceed to sign them, enable them to start offshore wind development work while Marine Scotland’s planning process for the INTOG Sectoral Marine Plan (INTOG SMP) is completed.
“Today’s results for this very distinctive and targeted leasing round are extremely encouraging,” Colin Palmer, director of marine at Crown Estate Scotland. “INTOG provides a range of practical ways to support innovation, reduce North Sea carbon emissions, and encourage technical and commercial innovation in the offshore renewables market.”
If a successful proposed project is in the final INTOG SMP, an option agreement will be offered. Projects will then go through planning, consenting and financing stages. Responsibility for these next steps does not sit with Crown Estate Scotland, and projects will only progress to a full seabed lease once all these various planning stages have been completed.
INTOG contract awards were determined on a largely open-auction basis and were judged on a mixture of price and quality. See the full list of projects here.
