Berwick Bank offshore wind farm project approved for Firth of Forth

One of the world’s largest offshore wind farms has been approved by the Scottish government.

The Berwick Bank project in the Firth of Forth off the East Lothian coast could generate enough electricity to meet the annual energy needs of every household in Scotland twice over.

Conservation groups had urged rejection of the scheme over its impact on seabirds in the area.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the approval had been given after “extremely careful consideration”.

Located about 23 miles (38km) off the Borders coastline at St Abbs, developers SSE Renewables want to construct up to 307 turbines.

The Scottish government said the approval was subject to the company producing a detailed seabird compensation plan outlining how any adverse impact would be tackled.

That plan will need to be approved by Scottish ministers ahead of the project proceeding.

Kate Forbes said: “The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.”

She said it was also an important decision for the renewables sector and the government would continue to work with developers to “balance the needs of people and nature”.

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “We welcome this decision which puts us within touching distance of our offshore wind targets to deliver clean power by 2030 – boosting our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.”

He said it marked a “huge step forward in Britain’s energy security and getting bills down for good”.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the project had the potential to make a “huge contribution to the UK government’s growth and clean energy missions and create clean power jobs in Scotland”.

He said it underlined the “massive potential” clean energy had to “generate jobs, wealth and opportunity for Scottish families”.