Located around 38km off the East Lothian coast, Berwick Bank is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power more than six million homes annually. The Section 36 consent grants approval for the main offshore wind array in the outer Firth of Forth, concluding over ten years of development.
The project has the potential to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits, including £8.3 billion in value to the UK economy and around 9,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs at peak construction, with roughly half of those in Scotland.
Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Renewables, said: “The Scottish Government’s decision to grant a consent order for Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm is hugely welcome. At over 4GW of potential capacity, Berwick Bank can play a pivotal role in meeting the mission of Clean Power 2030 for the UK and achieving Scotland’s decarbonisation and climate action goals.”
Responding to the approval, Dhara Vyas, Energy UK’s chief executive, said:
“Berwick Bank is key to meeting both Scotland’s and the UK’s energy targets and we are delighted it has been given consent. The more electricity we can produce in the UK the less we are exposed to other countries and this world-leading project has the potential to power millions of homes and businesses.
“Building more clean power generation is not only essential for our long-term energy security, we have already seen how offshore wind can positively transform coastal communities.”
Berwick Bank would boost Scotland’s operational renewable electricity capacity by nearly 25% and play a central role in reaching the UK’s target of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
