Wind Energy – Inch Cape
The equal joint owners of Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, ESB and Red Rock Renewables, announced today that the flagship Scottish project has reached financial close raising more than £3.5 billion of funding.
The 1,080 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm, located in the North Sea 15 kilometres (km) off the Angus coast, will now progress into its offshore construction phase.
Inch Cape will be the first UK project to use Vestas 15.0 MW turbines and, once operational, will generate almost 5 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy each year. It will comprise 72 turbines on a mix of monopile and jacket foundations, a single offshore substation platform and two 85 km AC export cables delivering power to an onshore substation under construction at Cockenzie, East Lothian.
Terms for the project financing, which includes transmission asset costs, have now been reached with lenders comprising 22 commercial banks.
The project will make a significant contribution to UK’s energy security and emissions reduction targets as well as to the economy through use of local suppliers. Inch Cape has, to-date, spent almost £300 million with more than 300 UK companies including environmental, technical and engineering design consultancies, civil and structural engineers, survey contractors and project management support.
Paul Lennon, Head of Offshore Wind, Hydrogen and Long-Term Storage at ESB, said: “Reaching this major milestone of financial close is a significant achievement for ESB, Red Rock Renewables and the whole project team. It is testament to the resilience, expertise and capability of the project team, project partners and both shareholders.”
“Offshore wind will play a key part in the delivery of ESB’s Net Zero Strategy by 2040 and Inch Cape is an important step along that journey. We look forward to entering the main construction phase and safely delivering this project over the coming years. Inch Cape will make a significant contribution to the UK climate goals, while creating local jobs.”
Offshore construction is due to begin in Q2 2025 with the start of installation of the export cables and followed by the installation of the offshore platform. First power is expected in late-2026 and with commercial operation date in 2027.
