Mainstream Renewable Power and Ocean Winds have signed the seabed lease agreement with Crown Estate Scotland to the value of £36million for the development of a 1.8 GW floating offshore wind farm off Shetland.

The companies were appointed preferred bidder by Crown Estate Scotland during the ScotWind clearing process in August 2022. 

With secured development rights, Mainstream and Ocean Winds have named the project Arven Offshore Wind Farm. 

As the Norwegian word for heritage or legacy, Arven provides a link to the proud Norse history of the Shetland Islands and to the legacy which both partners plan to create on site. 

With a 50-50 ownership, both Mainstream and Ocean Winds are committed to developing floating offshore wind on an industrial scale, generating local jobs and opportunities in Scotland and the Shetland Islands. 

The site output has the potential to power the equivalent of over 2million homes and save 3million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

Sian Lloyd-Rees, UK Country Manager for Mainstream Renewable Power, said:
“We are thrilled to progress our plans for the Arven Offshore Wind Farm and, building on Mainstream’s Scottish development experience and the Aker group’s decades long offshore heritage in the North Sea, we are ready to take a leading role in industrialising floating offshore wind. 

Supporting the UK government’s Net Zero ambitions, the wind farm is well placed to capitalise on Scotland’s offshore expertise and industry as we work with local partners to explore offtake opportunities.”

Adam Morrison, Country Manager for Ocean Winds in the UK, said: 
“Our team at Ocean Winds are delighted that we are further strengthening our position in Scotland with these new projects, which build on our delivery experience here in Scotland, as well as internationally. 

“We are excited to be advancing the development of commercial scale floating wind farms off Scotland and delivering significant new volumes of clean energy for the country to meet its energy transition objectives. 

“We look forward to listening to the many stakeholders who will have an interest in these projects as we start the development process to realise the potential of these projects.  Developing a robust route-to-market to underpin future investment will be an early focus.”

Mainstream, through its recent combination with Aker Offshore Wind, has created a global frontrunner in offshore wind, combining Aker Offshore Wind’s strong technical and engineering capabilities and early mover position in floating offshore wind with Mainstream’s proven project development methodology, and execution track record. 

The company has already partnered with Ocean Winds in the joint venture KF Wind in South Korea and is in a consortium to bid in the upcoming leasing round for floating wind at Utsira Nord in Norway. 

Mainstream and Ocean Winds are also major shareholders in the leading floating wind technology provider Principle Power. 

With a proven foundation of delivery of projects, including Moray East, the largest offshore wind farm in Scotland, together with pioneering floating projects such as WindFloat Atlantic in Portugal, Ocean Winds is well placed to take advantage of this opportunity to support the growth of the floating wind sector in Scotland. 

Ocean Winds is currently operating, building and developing three offshore wind projects in Scotland (Moray East – 950 MW, Moray West – 882 MW and Caledonia – up to 2 GW). 

With this award, Ocean Winds now has a total portfolio of 6.1 GW in Scotland.

Mainstream Renewable Power is a leading pure-play renewable energy company, with wind and solar assets across global markets, including in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Mainstream is one of the world’s most successful developers of gigawatt-scale renewables platforms, across onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar power generation. It has successfully delivered 6.5 GW of wind and solar generation assets to financial close-ready and has a global portfolio of approximately 29 GW.

In May 2021, Aker Horizons acquired a majority stake in Mainstream and, in April 2022, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. joined Aker Horizons as a long-term strategic investor. In August 2022, the transaction to integrate Aker Offshore Wind into the Mainstream group was completed.

Mainstream is one of the leading developers of offshore wind at scale globally. It has successfully consented Hornsea One (1.2 GW), the largest operational offshore wind plant in the world today; and developed the Hornsea 2 project (1.4 GW) before selling these projects and the entire Zone in 2015. Mainstream fully consented the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind project in Scotland, where 450 MW is currently under construction. Overall, it has developed and consented 20% of the UK’s offshore wind capacity either in operation or under construction. The company is currently bringing forward multi-gigawatt scale developments of offshore wind assets in markets including Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Norway, Ireland, the UK, and Sweden.

Mainstream, through Aker Horizons’ ownership and its combination with Aker Offshore Wind, will leverage the decades of offshore energy development experience through the Aker group. Aker has been instrumental in the design and deployment of more than half of all semisubmersible floating offshore installations in the world and has over four decades of experience in Scotland, including a global subsea centre of excellence.

Mainstream has raised more than EUR 3 billion in project finance to date and employs over 700 people across five continents.

KeyFacts Renewable Energy Directory: Mainstream Renewable Power   l   Ocean Winds