Markets & Projects

Neart Na Gaoithe Wind Farm

Developed by:

Mainstream Renewable Power

Fully Consented by:

Mainstream Renewable Power

Project Stage:

In Construction

Owned by:

EDF Renewables & ESB

Mainstream won the rights to develop the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe (“NnG”) site located in Scottish Territorial Waters through the 2008 competitive bidding process with Crown Estate Scotland.

The NnG Offshore Wind Farm represents a £1.8bn investment and was sold ‘construction-ready’ to EDF Renewables in 2018 following a competitive bidding process. ESB purchased a 50% stake in the project in November 2019.

The NnG project is currently in construction and is expected to be fully operational in 2023. NnG will provide power for around 375,000 homes and will offset more than 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Offshore wind

Scotland

450 MW Gross

Sold

Offshore and Onshore Consent received

Mainstream took the project from inception through all stages of onshore and offshore consent and achieved a number of key project milestones including securing a Contract for Difference (CfD) for the wind farm.

An in-depth community consultation process was also undertaken by the team engaging with local stakeholders throughout the development process.

NnG is one of only two from the original 10 sites from the 2008 Scottish Territorial Waters leasing round to have reached construction.

Project milestones

During the project development stage, a number of milestones were reached by the Mainstream team:

2009: Awarded offshore wind site in Scottish Waters from Crown Estate Scotland.
2011: Signed Agreement for Lease with Crown Estate Scotland.
2013: Received onshore planning consent from East Lothian Council.
2014: New floating offshore wind measurement device, FLiDAR, completed validation.
2014: Granted offshore consent by The Scottish Government.
2015: Successfully won Contract for Difference (CfD) from the UK Government in a highly competitive bidding process.
2018: Mainstream sell NnG to EDF Renewables.