RPS Group has been chosen to carry out environmental assessments for the 2.9-gigawatt (GW) Morven offshore wind project, secured by developers BP and EnBW as part of the ScotWind auction.
The global engineering consultancy, which employs 5,000 people across 125 countries, including at its Aberdeen office, will conduct the environmental social impact assessment (ESIA) and habitats regulation assessment (HRA) for the development of the Morven offshore wind farm.
BP and EnBW secured a lease for around 860 square km of seabed space around 37miles off Aberdeen in the ScotWind auction earlier this year.
RPS said it would draw on its 20-year history of delivering renewables projects in the UK, including its leading offshore consenting and licence activities for the 4.1GW Berwick Bank Wind Farm being progressed by SSE Renewables in the Firth of Forth.
Work on Morven will deepen RPS’ links with BP and EnBW too, with the company already supporting the consortium as ESIA consultant for offshore lease areas in the Irish sea, where the Morgan and Mona wind farms will be developed.
Work will be carried out by RPS teams in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and the company said it would collaborate with Aberdeen-based Wood to facilitate the onshore aspects of the Morven project.
In addition, RPS has selected specialist Scottish subcontractors Anatec (Shipping & Navigation) and BiGGAR Economic (Socio-Economic), which it said would bring “a strong contribution to the Scottish supply chain” for the project.
RPS opened a new office in the Scottish capital earlier this year, co-locating its consulting and energy teams with technology consultancy Reservoir Imaging (RIL), which was acquired by the group in 2019.
RPS technical director for offshore wind, Nicola Simpson, said: “We are delighted to support Morven Offshore Wind Limited on this offshore wind farm project, an exciting step in the BP and EnBW renewables strategy for offshore wind, and in the further development of the Scottish offshore wind industry.”
Meanwhile, BP has planned to make Aberdeen its global operations and maintenance centre of excellence for offshore wind, which is expected to create up to 120 new jobs and contribute up to £40 million to the economy per year.
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