Who owns MachairWind?

MachairWind is wholly owned by ScottishPower Renewables (SPR), a leader in the development of renewable energy projects, both onshore and offshore across the UK. SPR is part of the Iberdrola Group, one of the world’s largest utilities and a leading wind energy producer.

Who is ScottishPower Renewables?

ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) is a leader in the development of renewable energy projects - both onshore and offshore. To date, SPR has over 3GW of operational assets across wind, solar and battery storage technologies. SPR is part of the Iberdrola Group, one of the world’s largest utilities and a leading wind energy producer.

SPR has a long and proud history of developing and operating clean energy projects within Argyll, where our onshore windfarms – Beinn an Tuirc and Cruach Mhòr – have been operating for over two decades.

Who is Iberdrola?

Iberdrola has been a leader in electrification for more than 25 years as part of a history spanning over a century. ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) is responsible for progressing Iberdrola’s renewable energy projects in the UK, including managing the development, construction, and operation of offshore windfarms.

Where is MachairWind and how was this location chosen?

MachairWind is planned to be located offshore, northwest of Islay and west of Colonsay.
You can view a map of the site on the MachairWind website: https://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/offshore/machairwind/the-project

The site was identified by the Scottish Government as suitable for offshore wind development. It is part of the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (2020), where it is known as Plan Option W1.

This plan, approved by Scottish Ministers, assessed the area as capable of supporting up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind. For more detail, see the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan: https://www.gov.scot/publications/sectoral-marine-plan-offshore-wind-energy/documents

Why is MachairWind needed?

MachairWind will help provide secure and low‑carbon energy for the UK. At full capacity, it could generate around 2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity—enough to power the equivalent of up to 2 million homes.

Demand for electricity is expected to grow as more people switch to electric heating and vehicles. Projects like MachairWind will help meet this demand with clean energy. If approved, the project could begin operating around 2033 and last for at least 25 years.

The UK currently imports over 40% of its energy, mainly oil and gas. Expanding renewable energy like offshore wind helps reduce this reliance and supports a more stable and secure energy system.

Recent global events have shown how vulnerable energy supplies can be. By increasing homegrown renewable energy, the UK can better protect households from price volatility and supply disruption.

Offshore wind turbines quickly offset the emissions generated during manufacture, transportation and installation. MachairWind will make an important contribution to the achievement of the Scottish Government’s legally binding target of achieving Net Zero by 2045, and to its ambition of up to 40 GW of new offshore wind deployment by 2040.

What are the timescales for the project?

We anticipate a consent decision from the Scottish Government – whether MachairWind is accepted or rejected – in 2027. If consented, construction would start in the early 2030s, and the windfarm could be operational and producing power by the early to mid-2030s.

The project is envisaged to operate for circa 25-35 years, which would see it operating into the 2060s or 2070s.

What specifically is SPR seeking consent for?

The MachairWind Windfarm Development Area consent applications relate to the project’s windfarm development area.

MachairWind will progress separate consent applications, and undertake consultation, for the export cable corridor and onshore infrastructure at a later date. Each consent application and associated assessments will take account of the wider Project.

The infrastructure within the MachairWind windfarm development area is outlined below:

• 91 to 144 wind turbines
• Fixed bottom foundations
• Inter-array cables between the turbines
• Up to 2 offshore substation platforms
• Link cables between the platforms (if required)
• Export cables
• Scour protection (if required)

Who makes the final decision on the project?

Scottish Government Ministers will make the final decision on whether or not to award offshore planning consent for the MachairWind (WDA), based on a recommendation made by the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.

Where and how can I view the consent applications documents?

The documents are available to view from the Document Library. Alternatively, you can view them from the Marine Directorate website: https://marine.gov.scot/?q=node/23854. 

From Friday 3rd July, printed copies of the Non-Technical Summary Report(s) will be available for public inspection at the below listed venues located on Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Ross of Mull and Iona. Visual materials within the EIA Report, including maps, photomontages, and wirelines, will also be available in print at these locations. A tablet device providing access to the digital Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report and supporting documents will also be available at these locations.

•    Islay Service Point, Jamieson Street, Bowmore, Isle of Islay, PA43 7HP;
•    Jura Service Point, Craighouse, Isle of Jura, PA60 7XG;
•    Colonsay Service Point, Scalasaig, Isle of Colonsay, PA61 7YW;
•    Island Castaways, The Square, Bunessan, Isle of Mull, PA67 6DG; and
•    Iona Village Hall, Isle of Iona, PA76 6SJ.

The venues listed have limited opening hours, where these are not advertised, please contact the Project team (machairwind@scottishpower.com) to ensure you can access the documents at the appropriate times.

Post-submission, what are the next steps in the consenting process?

The Marine Directorate have opened a representation period where members of the public and stakeholders can comment on the application until 15 August 2026.

Concurrent to this, the Marine Directorate consults with statutory stakeholders. Marine Directorate review all consultation responses and undertake a review of the MachairWind EIA, habitat regulation assessment, and marine protected area assessment. 

Following this, the Marine Directorate then prepares a recommendation for Scottish Ministers. Ministers make the final decision to either grant consent/license (with conditions), refuse, or request modifications (there are no statutory timeframes in Scotland for Ministers to make this decision, however we anticipate it will take approximately 1 year).

If consent is granted, Marine Directorate continues oversight to ensure discharge of planning conditions, monitoring and mitigation plans, compliance and enforcement.

What community engagement have you done to date?

We have been engaging with communities in Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Ross of Mull and Iona to raise awareness of the project and gather local feedback to help shape its development.

Between 2022 and 2025, we held 16 non-statutory events, including drop-in sessions and attending local community events to reach as many people as possible. This early engagement has centred on ensuring the communities were familiar with the project team; the project characteristics, activities, and key milestones; and the consenting process, including how and when communities can inform decision making.

Beyond minimum statutory obligations, in 2025, we carried out two rounds of formal (statutory) consultation, each lasting six weeks. These included 16 events across the islands, with 272 event attendances.

How have communities’ views been listened to?

Substantive changes have been made to the design of MachairWind based on feedback from local communities and stakeholders, including but are not limited to:

• Reducing the total maximum number of turbines and lowering the maximum blade tip height, reducing the overall visual impact across the horizon; and
• Refining the Project’s boundary, resulting in a 40% reduction of the windfarm area - moving the boundary further away from coastal communities.

Feedback received during the first round of statutory consultation led to several tangible updates to the planning and materials used for the second round of consultation, for example:

• Recommendations regarding venues were acted upon, ensuring the events were held in areas where residents naturally gather;
• Greater variety and detail on visual representations of the windfarm were presented at the second round of consultation, through the provision of an interactive 3D model (viewable on a laptop and/or virtual reality headset), 5 dusk photomontages and an additional 14-day time photomontages (totalling 28 viewpoint photomontages); and
• Production of a MachairWind information booklet, which focused on communities’ areas of interest including dedicated chapters on community benefit funding, environmental assessments, and socio‑economic impacts and opportunities.

What are your plans for future consultation with the public?

Our Community Engagement Manager, Debs, will continue her role as our dedicated local contact, ensuring there is always someone active and present on the ground who understands community priorities and is available to listen to ideas, questions, or concerns. You can expect to see Debs and the wider team at community events, local gatherings, and out in the area as the project develops.

If MachairWind is consented, we will also focus on building community capacity so that local groups and residents can benefit fully from the opportunities the project creates. This will include seeking community and stakeholder feedback on how best to deliver the actions within the MachairWind Socio-economic Action Plan, which will be published along with the EIA. It will also include seeking feedback on how best to design and administer the project’s Community Benefit Fund.

You are welcome to get in touch with us at any time by emailing machairwind@scottishpower.com.

How are the impacts being assessed?

Our consultants have undertaken assessments and consultation to inform the Windfarm Development Area (WDA) consent applications. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report forms the bulk of our Section 36 consent applications.

The EIA report shows how the potential impacts from construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) and decommissioning have been assessed for a number of topics including, but not limited to, Marine mammals, Offshore ornithology, Commercial fisheries, Seascape, Landscape and Visual Impact, and Socio-economics.

To inform our EIA Report, we undertook surveys and obtained key datasets to further our understanding of the current environmental conditions within and in the vicinity of the Windfarm Development Area, such as:

• 30 months of digital aerial surveys to predict densities of birds, marine mammals and marine megafauna;
• Two geophysical surveys to better understand seabed topography, which informs potential impacts on the marine physical environment; and
• 12 months of weather buoy surveys to characterise the wind, wave and tidal environment.

Throughout the process we engaged with key stakeholders, including statutory nature conservation bodies, non-statutory stakeholders and non-governmental organisations.

Are environmental impacts independently assessed?

Yes. Our consultants and subconsultants have undertaken assessments and consultation to inform the Windfarm Development Area (WDA) consent applications. These assessments are carried out in line with regulatory requirements and industry best practice and are subject to review by the Marine Directorate and statutory consultees.

What impact will MachairWind have on the landscape and seascape?

MachairWind is situated amongst a unique setting of scenic landscapes, with distinctive coastlines. A key aim for the project is to design a windfarm layout that reduces any impact on seascapes and views.

Since securing the rights to develop this project in 2022, we have reduced the windfarm area by over 40%. Following our first round of public consultation (May to July 2025), we refined the windfarm area further from 510km2 to 448 km2 – a reduction of over 10%.

The MachairWind team has been working in collaboration with NatureScot, the statutory nature conservation body, to agree design objectives for the project, with a particular focus on protecting the special qualities of relevant National Scenic Areas (NSAs). These objectives will guide the detailed design of the windfarm, which will follow if MachairWind is consented.

The assessment of seascape, landscape and visual effects is shown in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report.

How can I see the visual representations myself?

MachairWind has utilised visual impact specialists (Land Use Consultants, known as LUC) to inform the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which included the creation of the photomontages. Photomontages are computer generated images of the Project modelled into the actual baseline photography. 

You can view the photomontages by:

• Clicking on the PDF within our Document Library: https://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/documents/d/guest/machairwind_autumn_consultation_2025_photomontages
• Clicking on our interactive map, which displays the photomontages digitally: https://www.3dwtech.co.uk/dashboard/scottishpower/machairwind/portal-update/

The photomontages have been undertaken in line with guidance from the Landscape Institute, which states that photography should be undertaken in good, clear weather conditions wherever possible, this is to demonstrate the worst-case visual impact. The actual visibility of MachairWind will vary greatly with atmospheric conditions and weather across the seasons.

During the most recent statutory public consultation, which took place from October to November 2025, we presented 28-day time photomontages and 5 dusk photomontages.

The dusk photomontages show the aviation and navigation lighting fitted to the outer-most turbines of the windfarm. The visualisations show lights on 35 turbines, although safety regulations will determine the brightness of the lights and number of turbines that will be lit for the final design.

Visibility will vary depending on weather, distance and atmospheric conditions. In some conditions, offshore structures may be difficult to distinguish. The design aims to reduce visual effects where possible.

How were the photomontages created?

The methodology for producing the photomontages was based on current good practice guidance from NatureScot and the Landscape Institute. The guidance states that photography should be undertaken in good, clear weather conditions wherever possible, this is to demonstrate the worst-case visual impact.

You can view this guidance by accessing the following links:

• NatureScot guidance: Visual Representation of Wind Farms (2017): https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2019-09/Guidance%20-%20Visual%20representation%20of%20wind%20farms%20-%20Feb%202017.pdf

• Landscape Institute Technical Guidance Note: Visual Representation of Development Proposals (2019: https://landscapeinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/LI_TGN-06-19_Visual_Representation-1.pdf

Will the windfarm impact tourism?

We recognise that the opportunities of offshore wind should not be delivered at a cost to other industries and businesses. We are acutely aware of the unique setting of MachairWind— an area renowned for its natural beauty—and its importance from a tourism and recreation perspective.

When delivered sensitively and collaboratively, we believe that offshore wind development can coexist with tourism. Infrastructure improvements, community benefit initiatives, and increased economic activity can support local services and amenities, contributing positively to the visitor experience.

Responding to feedback, tourism will form part of the socioeconomic impact assessment, which is being carried out by BiGGAR Economics; this assessment will identify and evaluate the potential socio-economic and cultural impacts of MachairWind.

How much Community Benefit Funding will be available and who is it available to?

The MachairWind Community Benefit Fund will be available to our host island communities - Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Ross of Mull and Iona. The value of the fund has not yet been set, which is typical at the pre‑consent stage, as final project decisions and government guidance are still to come. Last year, both the Scottish Government and the UK Government consulted on the approach to offshore wind community benefits - we await their recommendations.

SPR has a long history of delivering community benefit across the UK, contributing more than £75 million to local communities to date, with around £4m going to communities from our onshore windfarms within the Argyll & Bute region. We support community-led decision making, examples of the types of initiatives that communities have chosen to spend their benefit funding on can be found in our latest SPR Community Benefit Report: SPR Community Benefit Report 2025.

If MachairWind is consented, we will work closely with each of the five host communities to understand how they wish the fund to be governed and structured, such as whether the fund be distributed as annual payments, lump sums, or other approaches.

When will the Community Benefit Fund be available?

If MachairWind is consented, the Fund will be launched around the time MachairWind becomes operational (approximately 2033). The funding will continue for the duration of the project's operational lifetime (anticipated to be 25 to 35 years).

What is the Local Allocation of Supply Chain Stimulus Funding?

Within the MachairWind Socioeconomic Action Plan, we have outlined our supply chain commitments in relation to maximising local employment and supporting supply chain diversification and capacity building. One of those commitments is to ringfence at least £500,000 to support skills, innovation, and business support initiatives specifically for businesses within the Argyll & Bute region. This funding will be directed towards a range of initiatives that will run through the project’s development and construction phase, supporting suppliers to win work on MachairWind and other offshore wind developments.

It is important to note that this funding is entirely separate from the MachairWind Community Benefit Fund. The MachairWind Community Benefit Fund will be available to our host island communities - Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Ross of Mull and Iona – and will be available to these communities around the time MachairWind becomes operational (approximately 2033), subject to MachairWind being consented.

The MachairWind Socio-economic Action Plan (SEAP) – a document which explains the actions that SPR will undertake to help local communities and business maximise the opportunities from the windfarm project – will be made available to view from the Document Library when the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report is published (we anticipate this will be early July).

Will there be skills opportunities for the younger generation?

To maximise local employment opportunities, it is important to align workforce development with national skills strategies and offshore wind policy objectives. This includes actively addressing current skills shortages by delivering accessible training and creating clear, supported career pathways into the sector.

Equally important is the provision of entry-level opportunities – such as graduate schemes, apprenticeships and transition routes for individuals moving from other industries, to ensure a diverse and sustainable pipeline of talent for the offshore wind workforce. SPR is committed to working collaboratively with local and regional partners to ensure that job creation is meaningful, sustainable, and integrated into local economies. This means identifying specific workforce needs and supporting institutions to build local talent pipelines.

We intend to work closely with external partners to support the development of the young workforce in the region. This includes delivering and supporting STEM-related activities where possible, as well as working with local schools, educators, and further education to better understand their needs, skills, and aspirations, to provide opportunities that support children and young people now and into the future. 

Can my business get involved in supporting the delivery of the project?

SPR is committed to supporting local businesses with potential to diversify into offshore wind to access opportunities arising from MachairWind and the wider offshore wind sector. If you think your business could provide services to support the delivery of the project, please register on our Supply Chain Database. You can also contact the supply chain team on: SPRoffshoresupplychain@scottishpower.com

Where can I read about the opportunities MachairWind could bring?

MachairWind will deliver a range of benefits which will come in many forms, from investing in the existing workforce and port facilities, to delivering educational engagement in local schools and establishing a Community Benefit Fund around the time the windfarm becomes operational.

The opportunities created by MachairWind are described within a number of key documents, which will be made available to view from the Document Library when the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report is published. These are:

• MachairWind EIA Report: Chapter 18 Socio-economics – this document assesses the potential impacts and likely significant effects on socio-economics that may arise from MachairWind. It includes modelling of the potential employment impacts of the project.
• MachairWind Socio-economic Action Plan (SEAP) – this document explains the actions that SPR will undertake to help local communities and business realise the value from the windfarm project. These actions are intended to maximise the beneficial social and economic impacts of MachairWind, as set out in the Socio-economics chapter of the EIA.
• MachairWind Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) – this document sets out SPR’s commitments for Scottish and UK supply chain expenditure, which were made as part of the ScotWind leasing process. An updated SCDS will be published in Summer / Autumn 2026 setting out the progress made towards these commitments.