Achi news desk-
The approval was the first permission for Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round, and was set to trigger up to £3bn of investment, according to north-east energy tycoon Sir Ian Wood, who said that the decision is a huge boost for the region.
Green Volt, Europe’s first commercial-scale floating wind farm, is a 50-50 joint venture between Flotation Energy and Vargronn.
But while Flotation Energy has been introduced as a Scottish-headquartered company with ‘roots firmly in the North East’, the Herald can reveal the ultimate parent company pulling the strings are Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, an energy company owned by the Welsh Government. Japan.
Norway’s Vårgrønn, meanwhile, is a venture between Italian oil giant Eni and renewable energy off Plenitude and Norwegian investment company HitecVision. Eni owns 30.33% to the Italian government.
The Scottish Government has no interest in any company that benefits from the profits of the Green Volt even though the farms are being built in the nation’s waters.
It has led to concerns that ministers have not learned the lessons of the ScotWind round of 17 offshore wind projects which the First Minister is hailing as a “truly historic” opportunity for Scotland’s net zero economy.
A failure to create a state-owned energy company which could have sold the new ScotWind electricity to the grid and kept an operating profit, led to concerns that the nation would lose between £3.5 billion and £5.5 billion every year – around a tenth of the current Scottish budget from the developments.
It comes after it was revealed that Scotland plc has made a £250bn wealth loss since devolution – leading to fresh calls for a radical rethink of how the nation relies too much on foreign investment.
The nation’s great wealth extraction crisis equates to around £50,000 per Scotsman over a period of 22 years since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in May, 1999.
The level of wealth exports in Scotland is comparable to developing countries. The level of wealth losses in Scotland is being compared to developing countries with concerns that the nation is being “massively exploited” by foreign interests.
Amanda Burgauer, director of the respected think tank Common Weal, which has been tracking the nation’s financial performance, said: “The Scottish Government is still boasting about the strength of our renewables sector, while they continue to give it away.
“When it is owned abroad Scotland’s wealth is exported to the ultimate shareholders. If we give away 30 year licences, we are giving away 30 years of your wealth at the same time. Unless we keep this wealth somewhere in the Scottish economy we are still undermining ourselves.” ”
Concerns have previously been expressed that foreign governments including China and foreign companies have key interests in Scotland’s offshore wind farm revolution.
Ministers have come under fire for failing to replace the seven farms that were operating properly and three major schemes that were in advanced development stages which energy companies say will together have 5GW of installed capacity – enough to double power the 2.7m households in Scotland.
There has been concern that governments in China and the United Arab Emirates who have a key interest in the projects are presided over by human rights concerns among those benefiting from Scotland’s green revolution.
At that time in the last full financial year, combined offshore wind farms made over £230m in profit.
READ MORE: ScotWind: We can still reap the benefits of a billion pounds of wind
READ MORE: Scotland’s green jobs revolution ‘myth’ as key wind tower firm CS Wind goes bust
The “extraordinary” array of state government-controlled companies making millions from a key stake in Scotland’s collection of offshore wind farms also included France, Norway, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
Controlling interests are also held by private energy companies in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Japan.
The Scottish Government has been criticized for its failure to establish a publicly owned energy company saying it did not have the powers – while Wales has been developing a similar plan.
Campaigners have long called for a state-owned company to own energy resources, to provide safe, reliable and low-cost retail energy to homes and to ensure supply chain and renewable energy manufacturing jobs for Scotland .
It is felt by some that the failure to create a state-owned energy company has meant that the nation has lost its grip on the profits of Scotland’s green revolution.
The Scottish Government believes offshore wind farms will help complete Scotland’s journey to net zero, creating thousands of jobs in the process and has the potential to position the nation as a major exporter of renewable energy, including green hydrogen.
The outgoing First Minister, Humza Yousaf, said the approval of the project by the Scottish Government was “a significant milestone which will help secure Scotland’s place at the forefront of floating wind technology”.
He said: “Scotland is one of the best places in the world to develop offshore wind and its supply chain, and we are determined to make the most of the huge economic opportunity that offshore wind can offer .”
Energy tycoon Sir Ian Wood said the Scottish Government’s approval of the Green Volt project would trigger up to £3 billion of investment, according to north east energy tycoon Sir Ian Wood.
The billionaire businessman also said the project will create hundreds of jobs and “effectively lead to Europe’s first commercial-scale floating wind development”.
The wind farm off the east coast of Aberdeenshire near Pen Pedr will have up to 35 turbines with a power of 560 MW.
The project has been described as a “crucial stepping stone” from current small-scale projects to gigawatt-scale developments.
“Crucially, it also sends a huge message to domestic and international investors that Scotland is indeed a pioneer in this technology and the ideal location to manufacture and deliver floating wind developments,” he said.
When the project was given the green light, Flotation Energy’s chief executive, Lord Nicol Stephen, said: “It’s fantastic to be given the green light to deliver the world’s largest floating offshore wind project here in the North Sea of Scotland.
“This important milestone places Flotation Energy and our joint venture partner, Vargronn, firmly at the heart of the energy transition.
“Flotation Energy is headquartered in Scotland with its roots firmly in Aberdeen and the North East.”
The Chinese government has a key interest in two of Scotland’s offshore wind farms, including Scotland’s second largest fully operational offshore wind farm – the 84-turbine Beatrice wind farm off the Caithness coast which began operating three years ago.
Through his State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of a Chinese company, he controls Beatrice Wind Limited (BWL) which has a 25% stake in the farm he made, making a total profit of almost £200m over the last three years.
BWL received dividends totaling almost £60m between 2020 and 2022 through its shareholding. A dividend is a payment that a company can make to shareholders if it has made a profit.
It also controls Red Rock Power Limited, which has joint ownership of the 72-turbine Inch Cape wind farm being built off the Angus coast with energy company ESB which is controlled by the government of the Republic of Ireland. Once completed it will provide power to over 1.7m homes and is expected to be one of the country’s largest single sources of renewable energy.
Inch Cape, although not operational, still managed a profit of £2.93m in 2021.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “ScotWind and INTOG are set to deliver over £950 million paid or pledged by developers in revenue to the public purse from the initial awards alone. This program promises to provide billions more in rental revenue once projects are operational, to be invested for the benefit of the people of Scotland, creating thousands of jobs in the process.
“We are investing this revenue in our journey to net zero, and the Scottish Budget sets out the multi-million pound investment in 24/25 to ensure that Scotland’s workforce, businesses and communities all benefit from’ the renewable energy revolution at sea.
“The kind of high-quality investment we’re seeing across our growing renewable energy sector is supporting our domestic supply chains, improving productivity, and providing thousands of high-paying, skilled jobs.
“The Scottish Government has also set plans for a specific Fund for Building a New Scotland to invest up to £20 billion over the first decade of an independent Scotland, to ensure that everyone can benefit from the natural wealth of this country, and set the foundations for a fair, green and growing economy.”
Flotation Energy has been approached for comment.
Green Volt has said it is currently looking for ways to maximize the UK’s involvement in the project, which “promises to be the largest offshore wind farm in the world by 2029”.
“We have already started to engage with the supply chain in Scotland and will build on this significantly throughout 2022 and 2023,” the developers said.
It is said to be the “first mobile offshore wind farm in Europe on a commercial scale”.
The “groundbreaking” project “will electrify and decarbonise oil and gas platforms and deliver power to the UK grid, benefiting UK consumers and industry”.
