About
Meet the developers
Seagreen is an offshore wind farm development owned by SSE Renewables (49%) and Total (51%).
SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of the joint venture project, supported by TotalEnergies, and will operate Seagreen on completion.
First power was achieved in August 2022 with Seagreen expected to enter commercial operation in Q2 2023.
SSE Renewables is a leading developer, owner and operator of renewable energy across the UK and Ireland, with a portfolio of around 4GW of onshore wind, offshore wind and hydro. Part of the FTSE-listed SSE plc, its strategy is to drive the transition to a net zero future through the world class development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets.
SSE Renewables owns nearly 2GW of operational onshore wind capacity with over 1GW under development. Its 1,459MW hydro portfolio includes 300MW of pumped storage and 750MW of flexible hydro. Its operational offshore wind portfolio consists of 487MW across two offshore joint venture sites, Beatrice and Greater Gabbard, both of which it operates on behalf of its asset partners.
SSE Renewables has the largest offshore wind development pipeline across the UK and Ireland at up to 7GW, of which around 2.6GW is in construction or consented including Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm.
Along with building what will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm SSE Renewables is currently constructing the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea, a joint venture with Equinor.
SSE Renewables was a Principal Partner to the UK Government in the run up to and during the COP26 UN climate summit in November 2021.
TotalEnergies is a global energy major employing over 100,000 people with operations in over 130 countries worldwide. TotalEnergies ambition is to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. To achieve this they are building a portfolio of activities in renewables and electricity that could account for up to 40% of their sales by 2050.
By the end of 2020, TotalEnergies gross power generation capacity worldwide was around 12 GW, including close to 7 GW of renewable energy. Their objective is to reach 35 GW of production capacity from renewable sources by 2025 and to increase that figure further to around 100GW by 2030. This commitment will see TotalEnergies transform into a world leader in renewable energies.
In the UK, TotalEnergies is one of the largest traditional offshore operators. Employing around 1,000 people in Scotland, they have significant experience in successfully delivering complex projects in the harsh conditions of the North Sea. Over the last five years, TotalEnergies has averaged £564m in investment a year in Scotland with recent projects including the £4bn Culzean development that was completed with 52% local content. TotalEnergies is using its North Sea heritage to develop offshore wind projects in the UK which includes its majority stake in Seagreen, a majority stake in the 96MW Erebus floating offshore wind project in the Celtic Sea off the coast of Wales.
TotalEnergies has recently been awarded licenses worth potentially 1.5GW in the English and Welsh offshore wind licensing round.
Image: The first transformer delivery destined for Tealing preparing to leave the Port of Dundee.
Ten years of development
In 2010, the Crown Estate awarded Seagreen Wind Energy Limited (now a joint venture between TotalEnergies (51%) and SSE Renewables (49%)) was awarded the exclusive development rights for the Firth of Forth Zone of the UK's Round 3 offshore wind farm development programme. The Zone, located over 27km from the Angus coastline, covers an area of around 3,091 Km2 in the outer Firth of Forth.
Seagreen Wind Energy Ltd (SWEL) has worked closely with stakeholders and undertaken extensive surveys and assessments to develop the Seagreen offshore wind farm. 114 turbines are currently under construction with a 1,075MW installed capacity.
The original Seagreen consent provided for up to 150 turbines. SWEL is progressing plans for the connection of the remaining 36 turbines which is known as the Seagreen1A project. You can find out more about the Seagreen 1A project by clicking here.
Separately, SSE Renewables is developing proposals for an additional wind farm within the Firth of Forth Zone. You can find out more about the proposals for the Berwick Bank offshore wind farm by clicking here.
Sensitively located
The location and layout of the Seagreen offshore wind farm has included extensive assessment taking into account the potential impacts on marine wildlife, bird populations and landscape and visual.
The map shows the location of Seagreen in relation to the Angus coastline.
This map shows the export cable route for the first phase of 114 turbines from Seagreen to the Tealing substation.
For more information about the connection for the remaining 36 turbines into Cockenzie, East Lothian, please click here.
In both cases the electricity generated by Seagreen will be transmitted to the substations via subsea and underground cables.