Marramwind 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?

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.

Who is Iberdrola?

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

The proposed MarramWind offshore windfarm will be located 75 metres off the north-east coast of Scotland in water depths averaging 111 metres, the project could deliver up to 3GW of cleaner renewable energy - enough green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 3.5 million homes.

This will help support the Scottish Government’s target of net-zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045 and will also help support the UK’s drive for energy security and green energy independence.

MarramWind is expected to deliver up to 3GW of cleaner renewable energy. That’s enough homegrown green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 3.5 million homes.

This will help support the Scottish Government’s ambition to deliver 40GW of new offshore wind by 2040 and its target of net-zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045 and will also help support the UK’s drive for energy security and green energy independence.

In addition, MarramWind will generate social and economic benefits in the form of investment, jobs and supply chain contracts, particularly in the north-east of Scotland where the windfarm will be located. The project will also establish a community benefit fund, which will be launched around the time the windfarm becomes operational.

Further information on the social and economic benefits of MarramWind, and the actions the project will take to ensure these are maximised for Scottish communities and businesses, can be found in the MarramWind Socioeconomic Action Plan, which is available within the Document Library.

MarramWind has now reached an important milestone in its development, with both the offshore and onshore consent applications submitted to the relevant authorities for consideration. These applications are supported by extensive environmental assessments, technical studies and stakeholder engagement undertaken over the past several years to help inform the project design and understand potential impacts.

The project has now entered the examination and determination phase of the consenting process. During this time, regulators and consultees will review the applications and supporting information in detail before making decisions on whether consent should be granted. MarramWind will continue to engage with local communities, landowners, businesses and other stakeholders throughout this process, providing updates as the project progresses and responding to any further information requests from the consenting authorities.

The proposed MarramWind offshore windfarm is expected to deliver up to 3GW of cleaner renewable energy. That’s enough green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 3.5 million homes.

Floating wind is a real game changer for the renewables industry, allowing us to put turbines in deeper waters further offshore where the wind is stronger and more constant.

Rather than fixing the turbine to the seabed, the turbine is fixed to a floating platform that is anchored to the seabed using flexible mooring chains or steel cables, meaning less of an impact on the seabed itself. The turbine is stabilised by these moorings and anchors and by the way the design of the structure distributes the masses and weights. There are different types of floating platforms: barge, semi-submersible, spar and tension leg.

No decision has been made as yet about which platforms will be used for MarramWind.

The design of the turbines is at the early engineering phase and careful consideration will be taken in assessing the required technical capabilities to help determine the optimum solution in the later stage of the project.

The turbines could be up to 350m tall, with rotor diameters ranging from 236m to 326m and maximum rotor blade widths of between 5.1m and 10m. We haven’t chosen the exact wind turbines yet, as technology is advancing quickly, but each turbine could produce up to 25 megawatts (MW) of power - among the most powerful and productive wind turbines in the world.

As a floating windfarm, the proposed MarramWind needs to be further offshore in deeper waters. It will be located approximately 75 kilometres off the north-east coast of Scotland.

Environmental assessments have played a key role in the development of the MarramWind project and have largely been undertaken through the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. These assessments have helped identify, understand and evaluate the potential effects of the project during construction, operation and decommissioning, enabling mitigation measures to be incorporated into the project design where required.

A wide range of environmental topics have been assessed both offshore and onshore. Offshore studies have included benthic ecology, ornithology, fish and shellfish, marine mammals, shipping and navigation, commercial fisheries, seascape and visual impacts, archaeology and cultural heritage. Onshore assessments have considered landscape and visual effects, terrestrial ecology and ornithology, water environment, traffic and transport, noise and vibration, land use, cultural heritage, socio-economics and recreation. Together, these studies provide a comprehensive understanding of the local environment and help ensure that potential impacts are avoided, reduced or managed wherever possible.

The findings of these assessments have been submitted as part of the project's consent applications and will be carefully reviewed by regulators and statutory consultees during the determination process. MarramWind will continue to work closely with stakeholders and regulatory bodies to ensure environmental considerations remain at the heart of project development.

MarramWind is committed to engaging openly and transparently with stakeholders throughout the consenting process and beyond. We continue to work closely with local communities, landowners, businesses, community organisations, elected representatives and statutory consultees to ensure stakeholders are kept informed about project progress and have opportunities to provide feedback.

As the project moves through the examination of its consent applications, we will continue to provide timely information on key milestones and respond to questions raised by stakeholders. Looking ahead, should the project receive consent, engagement will continue during detailed design, construction and operation. This will help ensure that communities and stakeholders understand upcoming activities, potential impacts and mitigation measures, while also providing opportunities to discuss local priorities, concerns and potential benefits associated with the project.