BP is expected to enter into Scotland’s offshore wind market by bidding for acreage in the ongoing ScotWind leasing round, according to The Times.
The oil and gas giant shocked the renewables world in February when it forked out £900 million to secure a combined three-gigawatts (GW) of projects in the Irish Sea as part of the Crown Estate auction in England and Wales.
There was much speculation at the time as to whether the firm would also enter the ScotWind process, which increased its maximum-bids threshold ten-times over in the wake of BP’s win down south.
Now, in an interview with The Times, Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive, is claimed to have said: “We’re looking at ScotWind [Crown Estate], we are looking elsewhere in the world as well.”
Like its bid in the Crown Estate process, the newspaper claims BP is working with Germany’s Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (EnBW) on its Scottish proposals.
ScotWind, which allows prospective offshore wind developers to secure seabed acreage, is due to close to applicants in July.
The original cut off date in March was delayed to allow organisers Crown Estate Scotland to carry out a review into the process.
A total of 17 plots of land are up for grabs, several of which are located off the north-east coast.
Other developers expected to bid for acreage in the hotly contested process include Danish renewables giant Orsted and newly formed floating wind firm Magnora Floating Wind.
Last year, BP unveiled plans to axe its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, as well as to help reduce the environmental impact of its products.
By 2030, the supermajor aims to have developed around 50 GW of net renewable generating capacity, up from 3.3 GW in 2020.
The strategy also includes increasing BP’s annual low carbon investment ten-fold, to around $5 billion a year.
The London-headquartered firm’s other renewables ventures include a strategic partnership with Norwegian energy giant Equinor to develop offshore wind in the US.
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