1.4. Site Selection and Consideration of Alternatives

1.4.1. The Array

  1. This section presents a summary of volume 1, chapter 4 which outlines the site selection process undertaken prior to award during the ScotWind Leasing Round in January 2022 through to design freeze of the PDE to inform the Array EIA Report. Further detailed design will be undertaken post-consent.
  2. The approach taken with regard to site selection and the definition and refinement of the Array involved the following steps:
  • stage 1: identification of Sectoral Marine PO Areas and ScotWind Leasing Round;
  • stage 2: Sectoral Marine Plan (SMP) Plan Option Area (PO Area): site assessment and selection of preferred PO area;
  • stage 3: ScotWind Leasing Award and Array site boundary;
  • stage 4: Array and PDE - EIA Scoping; and
  • stage 5: Array and PDE – EIA and Application.
  1. A summary of these stages is provided below, with full details included in volume 1, chapter 4.

                        Stage 1: Identification of SMP PO Areas and ScotWind Leasing Round

  1. The SMP for Offshore Wind Energy was published by the Scottish Government in October 2020, which outlines a spatial strategy for commercial scale offshore wind development in Scotland and provides a strategic framework for the ScotWind Leasing Round (Scottish Government, 2020a) through the identification of 15 final PO Areas across four regions (West (W), North (N), North East (NE) and East (E)) for renewable energy generation.
  2. The first ScotWind Leasing Round was launched by Crown Estate Scotland (CES) in June 2020. In the ScotWind Leasing Round, developers were able to apply for the rights to build offshore wind farms in Scottish waters within the PO Areas. The final PO Areas were published in October 2020. In November 2020, the Applicant announced that they were in the process of preparing bids for PO Areas offered as part of the ScotWind Leasing Round (SSER, 2020).

                        Stage 2: SMP PO Areas: site assessment and selection of preferred PO area

  1. The Applicant completed a site assessment to understand risk and constraints of all 15 of the final PO Areas included in the ScotWind Leasing Round. The assessment considered alternative technology options at a preliminary level, with a specific focus on floating foundations whilst also considering sites suitable for fixed and ‘hybrid’ (mixed floating and fixed technology) solutions.
  2. Following review of the DPOs and selected sites, further work was undertaken by the Applicant to narrow their site selection further using the guidelines set out in the CES ScotWind Leasing documents (CES, 2021). Four sites were identified within three DPOs which included the E1 DPO. Two specific sites were defined within the E1 DPO taking in to account a detailed environmental constraints analysis within the wider Eastern region (E1) PO Area.
  3. The Applicant proceeded to bid for one of these specified sites within the E1 PO Area, referred to as ‘E1 East’.

                        Stage 3: ScotWind Leasing Award and Array site boundary

  1. The Applicant undertook a detailed review of a number of parameters and constraints within the E1 PO Area (SSER, Marubeni and CIP, 2021). Baseline data from Berwick Bank and Seagreen 1 (formerly known as Seagreen Alpha and Seagreen Bravo) Offshore Wind Farm projects, and Seagreen 1A Project including metocean, climatic and ornithology baseline data, were considered in the assessment process. Specifically, within the E1 PO Area, key environmental concerns included minor socio-economic impacts to commercial shipping, commercial fishing, power interconnector sectors, and Ministry of Defence (MOD) radar interference, as well as impacts to ecological receptors (Scottish Government, 2020a). To further understand the potential constraints associated with the E1 PO Area, the Applicant carried out several studies and analyses to inform the bid for the ScotWind Leasing Round.
  2. The constraints analysis also led to the selection of the Preferred Project Concept (PPC) put forward by the Applicant at the bid stage of the ScotWind Leasing Round. The PPC was a floating offshore wind farm located within the E1 PO Area with a proposed capacity of 2.6 GW (SSER, Marubeni and CIP, 2021). Preliminary wind turbine selection and foundation types were also put forward as part of the ScotWind Leasing Round bid for the E1 PO Area.
  3. In January 2022, the Applicant was awarded an Option to Lease Agreement for the E1 East site boundary. This area was derived following the aforementioned constraints assessments which balanced technology, consenting and commercial feasibility factors. At this stage, a degree of flexibility was maintained for the site design once detailed site work, such as geotechnical surveys and ornithological studies, have been completed.
  4. In August 2022, the Applicant announced that the E1 East floating offshore wind farm was to be renamed ‘Ossian’; the site boundary remained unchanged.

                        Stage 4: Array and PDE - EIA Scoping

  1. Following award of the Option to Lease Agreement, the Applicant developed the PDE for the Array EIA Scoping Report. The PDE built upon the PPC put forward within the ScotWind Leasing Round bid, and further studies and analyses to refine project parameters were undertaken. Due to previous site condition assessments, the PDE parameters were based upon deployment of floating turbine technology and fixed bottom OSPs due to the depth range across the Array.
  2. In November 2022, the Applicant engaged with statutory consultees prior to submission of the Array EIA Scoping Report and LSE Screening Report to provide a project update and the initial conclusions drawn for key biological and human topics, and to seek feedback and agreement on impacts to be scoped in and out of the topic assessments. Statutory consultees engaged at these pre-Scoping Workshops included MD-LOT, Marine Directorate – Science Evidence, Data and Digital (MD-SEDD), NatureScot, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), Scottish White Fish Producers Association (SWFPA) and North and East Coast Regional Inshore Fisheries Group (NECRIFG).
  3. The Scoping Report and LSE Screening Report for the Array were submitted by the Applicant to the Scottish Ministers in March 2023 (Ossian OWFL, 2023).

                        Stage 5: Array and PDE – EIA and Application

  1. Following submission of the EIA Scoping Report for the Array in March 2023, the Applicant refined the PDE to identify sufficient detail to undertake a robust EIA. The key refinements made to the PDE from the Array EIA Scoping Report to this Array EIA Report were informed by early engineering works and consultation with stakeholders. In addition to stakeholder consultation, the Applicant held internal workshops to develop and inform the EIA PDE with representatives from the engineering and consenting teams to ensure proportionate and realistic parameters have been set whilst considering environmental, consenting and engineering constraints.