Plan to reduce number of turbines at floating wind farm off Caithness coast
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Developers of a floating wind farm off the north coast of Caithness intend to reduce the number of turbines from seven to six.
The change can be made to the proposed Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm while maintaining its 100MW capacity.
The wind farm is being planned by Highland Wind Limited, which is majority owned by a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, at a site some 7.5km offshore from Dounreay.
The size of the turbines – up to 300m high to their blade tips – will remain the same.
An application has been submitted to vary the wind farm's Section 36 consent under the Electricity Act, and associated marine licences, as a result of further survey work and "advancements in project design".
Project director Richard Copeland said: “The project reached the important milestone of achieving offshore consents earlier this year. Now, as a result of further design and survey work, we have proposed refinements to the consent to reflect the most accurate design parameters.
"This submission is a result of a significant effort to build a robust project which prioritises sustainability, remains considerate of the natural environment and reflects the views of local communities and stakeholders.
“The variations will future-proof the site, ensuring we can deliver greater benefit to the local community and Scotland’s energy sector as a whole.”
The application follows the submission of a screening request by Highland Wind Limited in August and a screening opinion from the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate in September.
Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm is planned to be operational in 2026.
It will use Stiesdal Offshore’s TetraSub floating structure technology.
A spokesperson for the wind farm said: "The project is not seeking to change the maximum tip height in the variation application. The tip height remains at 300m, which is sufficient for Pentland to reach 100MW with only six turbines.
"Advancements in turbine technology and design refinements as the project has progressed mean the same capacity can be achieved with fewer turbines than initially planned for."
