Out of a total 74 applications, Crown Estate Scotland chose the best 17, which have been offered the option of developing wind facilities on specific areas of the seabed.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon said she welcomed the “truly historic” opportunity for Scotland’s net zero economy, which is expected to secure at least £1bn in supply chain investment for every 1GW of capacity proposed.
They will also generate around £700m in revenue for the Scottish Government and represent the world’s first commercial- scale opportunity for floating offshore wind.
The area of seabed covered by the 17 projects is just over 7,000km2, with the largest project from Scottish Power Renewables generating 3,000MW followed closely by BP’s Alternative Energy Investments, which will generate just under that amount.
Crown Estate Scotland said that if any of the applications do not progress to signing a full agreement, the next highest scoring application will instead be offered...