UK backs Green Volt floating wind farm project

Flotation Energy and Vaargroenn, a joint venture between Eni’s Plenitude and private equity firm HitecVision, said on Tuesday that their floating offshore wind project Green Volt had won a contract in the latest UK renewable energy auction.

The £2.5 billion ($3.28 billion) initiative, which has a potential of up to 560 megawatts, has the potential to become the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm backed by government incentives, they said.

The facility will be located 80 kilometres (50 miles) off the coast of north-east Scotland.

“Green Volt will drive investment in new port infrastructure and aggregate advanced supply chain efforts, helping to accelerate the development of more floating wind farms,” Vaargroenn CEO Stephen Bull said in a statement.

The UK government has announced it will support a total of 131 wind, solar and tidal energy projects that could generate almost 10 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power around 11 million homes.

Through annual auctions, the government invites renewable project developers to bid for government-guaranteed prices for electricity generated, known as Contracts for Difference.

When wholesale electricity prices are below the minimum, the government covers the difference. If they are higher, producers pay the difference back to the government.

Once operational, Green Volt will deliver clean energy to the UK grid, as well as renewable energy to nearby oil and gas drilling rigs.

Plenitude, Eni’s renewable energy subsidiary, owns 65% of Vaargroenn, with HitecVision holding the rest.

(Reuters – Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Bill Berkrot)