At a media briefing in Inverness last week, Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd (MORL) announced that it had submitted an application to the Scottish Government for consent to develop offshore wind power at three sites within Zone 1 of The Crown Estate's Third Round of offshore wind licensing.

The application for the outer Moray Firth, 22km (13.5 miles) from the Caithness coast has been lodged with the Scottish Government's agency, Marine Scotland.

The application represents the culmination of three years of development work, data gathering, extensive environmental studies and broad consultation. A full Environmental Impact Assessment has been undertaken, and the resulting environmental statement is available for public inspection at various locations on the Moray Firth coastline.

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The main points of the development include:

•Total installed generation capacity: 1500MW

•Total Number of turbines: 189– 339

•Total Area – 295km2

•Maximum turbine blade-tip height - 204m (669 feet)

Dan Finch, Project Director and Managing Director for EDPR UK commented: "The installation of this infrastructure will provide a sustainable energy source for years to come; and just like the hydro power of previous generations, it will be free from the rising costs of coal and gas.

"This represents the culmination of a huge amount of development work. By working in deeper water, more than 12 miles from shore, we can take advantage of the excellent wind resource in the outer Moray Firth, and make a significant contribution to cutting greenhouse gas production and reducing the need to burn fossil fuels.

"The installation of this infrastructure will provide a sustainable energy source for years to come; and just like the hydro power of previous generations, it will be free from the rising costs of coal and gas."

(CD)