January 28 (Renewables Now) – Crown Estate Scotland on Monday shared details of the Supply Chain Development Statement, a new mechanism to be included in the leasing round for offshore wind projects this spring.
The Statement has to outline the anticipated level and geographical location of supply chain activity during the development, consenting, construction, operation and maintenance of the offshore wind projects. It will form part of the initial application for seabed rights.
The information in the Statement will not form part of any scoring relating to the selection of winning applications, but it will be incorporated into the ScotWind Leasing Agreements signed by the companies successful in the leasing round. They will have to do regular reporting and face penalties for non-compliance, which are yet to be determined.
The ScotWind Leasing round was previously planned for October 2019 but it was delayed until Marine Scotland finalised and adopted the Sectoral Marine Plan for Commercial Scale Offshore Wind. The round is now expected in spring 2020. The specific timing is yet to be announced.
Crown Estate Scotland said it will be able to confirm the closing date for applications and all final details of ScotWind Leasing when there is clarity on the date of the final adoption of the Sectoral Marine Plan. Aligning timescales with it is necessary to give offshore wind developers certainty regarding the sites for their projects.
