Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) has submitted the onshore scoping report to Aberdeenshire Council for the infrastructure associated with its Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm.
The report identified an area between Gourdon and Benholm Beach, Aberdeenshire as the planned site for the wind farm’s export cable to make landfall.
However, the exact location is still being refined, with a decision expected in the project’s subsequent onshore environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.
The export cable will connect to the wind farm’s substation in the Fetteresso Forest area of Aberdeenshire, which will be plug in to SSEN’s proposed Hurlie substation
Last year, SSEN changed its plans for its Aberdeenshire substation, moving it from Fiddes in the Mearns to the Fetteresso Forest following a community backlash to its East Coast 400kV upgrade, part of the company’s £20bn Pathway to 2030 programme.
The exact location of the Bowdun substation is subject to ongoing discussions with SSEN and Forestry Land Scotland, which is responsible for the land and management of the forest. Fetteresso Forest.
The onshore cables will be entirely underground, removing the need for overhead transmission lines.
The next move for the project will be for Aberdeenshire Council to decide whether or not to provide a scoping opinion for the project.
Bowdun project director Ian Taylor said: “The submission of the onshore scoping report for the Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm is a very significant milestone for the project and allows us to continue engagement with the local community on the emerging cable corridors, substation and landfall.
“We are looking forward to meeting with the communities on Bowdun in October at our planned events in Aberdeenshire.”
© Supplied by TWPTWP won the lease for the project in the 2022 ScotWind leasing round. The group expects to use 50-60 turbines in the 1GW wind farm.
Named after the Bowdun Head coastal landmark near Stonehaven, the Bowdun wind farm will be based 27 miles (44km) from the distinctive headland nearby Dunnottar Castle.
Initial geophysical studies for both Bowdun and TWP’s 1GW Ayre floating wind farm east of Orkney were undertaken last year by G-tec.
TWP previously submitted the onshore and offshore scoping reports for Ayre in the first half of this year.
A final investment decision on both developments is scheduled for 2028, if consenting is achieved in 2025. The group expected construction will start sometime between 2029 and 2032.
TWP is a consortium led by Belgian firm Deme Group, alongside French renewable energy firm Qair and Belgium-based wind turbine company Aspiravi.
As part of the scoping process for Bowdun, TWP will hold community consultation events in Aberdeenshire between 28 and 30 October, 2024.
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