A total of 37 Scottish projects won Contracts for Difference (CfD) in a competitive UK Government auction process, with Green Volt, on Scotland’s east coast, set to become the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm.

Two fixed offshore wind developments and key projects in onshore wind sit alongside solar and tidal stream developments which will add to the £10 billion of economic benefits delivered by renewables in Scotland each year.

One of the successful bids was from Inch Cape Offshore Limited, developer of the 1080 megawatt (MW) Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm located in the North Sea off the Angus coast. It will connect to the national grid via an 85-kilometre offshore cable route and through an onshore substation which is currently under construction at Cockenzie in East Lothian.

Inch Cape project director, John Hill, said: “The award of the CfD is an important milestone for the project as we continue to work closely with our key suppliers and stakeholders towards achieving financial close later this year.”

The AR6 award of 266MW will top-up the project’s previous CfD award from Allocation Round 4.

Inch Cape will be an around £3 billion investment in the UK’s energy infrastructure and will create thousands of jobs during construction. Once operational it will generate more than 5TWh of renewable electricity each year and make a substantial contribution to the UK’s energy security.

Inch Cape Offshore Wind Limited is a 50/50 equal joint venture between ESB and Red Rock Renewables.

After the failure of last year’s auction, which attracted no bids from offshore wind projects, Claire Mack, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said today’s announcement will boost investor confidence in the renewable energy industry.

Ms Mack said: “Today’s results are positive for Scotland as they enable projects coming forward across a number of key renewable technologies.

“This auction represents a welcome step in the right direction and largely provides cause for optimism.

“Scotland has an enviable pipeline of offshore wind and potentially world leading sites in floating wind. The award of a CfD for what is currently the largest floating offshore wind farm across the globe, is therefore very encouraging. However, recent auctions have failed to deliver the smaller test and demonstration projects which would be helpful to gain the expertise and learning required to develop floating technology and its supply chain.

“It is also important the UK government understands that today’s auction results mean it is still not on track to achieving its clean power mission by 2030 so further actions will be required.

“With this auction round procuring less than half of the eligible offshore wind capacity we are now at a critical juncture and the UK Government must ensure that next year’s auction brings forward the capacity needed to deliver its net-zero targets.

“Seeing more Scottish projects is very welcome but we urge the UK Government to work with us to reduce or remove the barriers to deployment, such as the disproportionate charges to connect to the electricity network, that we face in Scotland.

“Today’s results are a strong step in the right direction and we look forward to working collaboratively with industry and government to ensure next year’s auction round will be shaped to deliver as many Scottish projects as possible to support a cheaper, cleaner more resilient energy system.”

Acting cabinet secretary for net zero and energy Gillian Martin said: “We welcome the news that 37 Scottish projects across fixed and floating offshore and onshore wind, solar and tidal stream have successfully secured a Contracts for Difference (CfD) award under Allocation Round 6.

“Following the absence of any applications from offshore wind developers to last year’s allocation round, this is a step in the right direction for the sector and demonstrates the importance and capability of Scotland to deliver zero carbon power.

“Scotland’s burgeoning renewables sector has huge potential. We need to see even greater project numbers and renewables capacity delivered through the CfD in future and we will be engaging with industry to understand the implications for projects that were not successful in this year’s allocation round.

“We will continue to work with the UK Government to ensure that maximum support, sufficient budget and more longer-term certainty is provided to Scottish projects in Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7.”