Thistle Wind Partners submits Onshore Scoping Report for Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm
Ian Taylor, project director, Thistle Wind Partners
Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) has submitted its Onshore Scoping Report to Aberdeenshire Council, for the onshore infrastructure associated with its Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm to request a Scoping Opinion under The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. The Report provides information on the proposed onshore infrastructure and further outlines the approach to the Environmental Impact Assessment, including baseline data sources.
Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm, an approximately 1GW fixed-foundation project located 44km to the east of Stonehaven, will connect to the grid in Aberdeenshire.
The TWP team has been working through optioneering and consideration of environmental constraints, in discussions with several landowners, throughout the year to identify landfall, cable corridor and substations options. Onshore wintering bird and intertidal surveys were completed earlier in the year and ecology surveys, which will form a key part of the onshore environmental baseline assessment within the EIA, are currently ongoing.
Submission of this Onshore Scoping Report follows TWP’s submissions of both the Onshore and Offshore Scoping Reports for its Ayre Offshore Wind Farm in the first half of the year.
To keep stakeholders informed, the TWP team will be holding community consultation events in Aberdeenshire between 28th and 30th October 2024. Additional preapplication consultation events, in advance of the submission of a planning application, are planned for 2025. TWP will seek feedback from the community with regards to the Bowdun project.
Commenting on the announcement, 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.”
The Bowdun Onshore Scoping Report is available to view on the TWP website:
Scoping requests to Aberdeenshire Council can be found on their Planning Portal at:
Public access - planning and building register - Aberdeenshire Council
About Thistle Wind Partners
Thistle Wind Partners was founded in 2020 by DEME Concessions, Qair and Aspiravi and is dedicated to developing offshore wind farms in Scotland. Operating from offices in Edinburgh, TWP is developing two pioneering projects after successfully securing rights to almost 400km2 of seabed under the ScotWind leasing round in 2022.
Currently in development is the Ayre Offshore Wind Farm, a 1GW floating-foundation project located 22km to the east of Orkney, and the Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm, a 1GW fixed-foundation project lying 44km off the coast of Aberdeenshire.
TWP is committed to developing local supply chain in Scotland and contributing to a ScotWind legacy of large-scale renewables build-out in Scotland. In developing its two offshore wind sites, TWP will take a technology-neutral approach to procurement, considering offerings from market entrants and SMEs.
Further information about TWP can be found at: www.thistlewindpartners.scot
