Huge wind farm off coast of Fife and Angus worth £4bn to economy

A huge offshore wind farm off the coast of Fife and Angus could deliver as much as £4.1 billion to the Scottish economy, it has been claimed.

The Berwick Bank offshore wind farm will also cut millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, according to a new report.

The huge project is to be built about 20 miles off the coast of Fife and Angus.

The economic impact study carried out by renewable energy consultants, BVG Associates (BVGA), has shown that at peak construction in 2026 the project could create around 4,650 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Scotland.

It could also create more than 9,000 jobs across the UK.

Those will add an estimated £8.3bn to the UK economy as a whole over the lifetime of the project.

‘Significant opportunities’ of Berwick Bank

Project director Alex Meredith said: “SSE Renewables is committed to delivering investment in jobs and skills in Scotland through Berwick Bank Wind Farm.

“It is clear that if we obtain consent to proceed with Berwick Bank, it will provide a significant boost to the offshore wind supply chain and encourage investors to get involved in the sector in Scotland at scale.

“Consenting a project of this scale can provide the step change we need to see in Scotland to unlock investment.

“The analysis considers the project’s potential based on an enhanced UK supply scenario… which realistically illustrates the huge benefits to the economy if Berwick Bank is approved.

“It represents a significant opportunity to deliver high-quality green jobs that can be sustained throughout the life of the project.”

Berwick Bank a key project

Once operational, SSE Renewables estimates Berwick Bank would support around 500 jobs in Scotland over the duration of the operational life of the wind farm.

The project could consist of up to a maximum of 307 turbines and the strategic location of the wind farm means it will be able to deliver large amounts of power to the National Grid.

Mr Meredith added: “Berwick Bank can generate not just enough clean, renewable energy to power over five million homes, it can also generate significant revenue and jobs for Scotland and the UK.

“Given the right investment incentives and supply chain opportunities throughout the project life-cycle Berwick Bank will play a key role in helping the country meet its net zero targets.”

The giant wind farm was originally meant to be the same size as Fife, but has since been scaled back in size twice.

Once complete, which could be by 2030, Berwick Bank has the potential to deliver up to 4.1GW of green electricity.

That makes the project a critical contributor towards meeting Scottish Government targets of 11GW of new offshore wind energy supply by 2030.