Giant offshore Berwick Bank windfarm approved by Scottish Government
The Scottish Government has approved what is set to be the world’s largest offshore windfarm off the Berwickshire coast despite concerns it could kill tens of thousands of seabirds.
The Berwick Bank project – located in the North Sea about 23 miles from the important seabird colonies of St Abb’s Head National Nature Reserve and the Bass Rock – could generate enough electricity to meet the annual energy needs of every household in Scotland twice over.
Developers SSE Renewables plan to construct up to 307 turbines.
The project prompted five charities, led by RSPB Scotland, to urge ministers to reject the plans that they predict would have a disastrous impact on seabirds.
The Scottish Government has said approval is subject to the company producing a detailed seabird compensation plan outlining how any adverse impact would be tackled.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.”
But Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, labelled it a “very dark day for seabirds”.
She said: “Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland’s globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines.
“In addition, its impacts are so damaging they will make the relative impacts of other wind farms significantly higher.”
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “We welcome this decision which puts us within touching distance of our offshore wind targets to deliver clean power by 2030 – boosting our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.”
He said it marked a “huge step forward in Britain’s energy security and getting bills down for good”.
SSE Renewables said the project had the potential to create thousands of jobs and inject £8.3billion into the economy over its lifetime.
Managing director Stephen Wheeler said the consent was “hugely welcome”.
He said: “We need to take back control of our energy and more offshore wind getting the green light marks a huge step forward in Britain’s energy security and getting bills down for good.”
If fully delivered, Berwick Bank would become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, capable of generating enough clean energy to power more than six million homes annually.