Buchan Offshore Wind has reached a major milestone by submitting its offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers for a proposed floating windfarm that could spark significant investment in Scotland's ports and bring long-term jobs to Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Located 75 km to the northeast of Fraserburgh, the project has an anticipated capacity of close to 1GW and would have up to 70 turbines, offering the potential to power more than one million homes.

Its development would see more than nine hundred million pounds invested in Scotland's manufacturing sector and supply chain, with around 2,900 jobs at the peak of construction and close to 300 ongoing jobs during operation.

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The project has identified BW Ideol's Damping Pool® floating substructure as its preferred foundation option, with the company working to establish a manufacturing centre at the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility on the Moray Firth. The project is also actively engaging with a number of ports in the north-east of Scotland to identify a suitable location for its operations and maintenance hub.

Project Director Clare Lavelle said the submission was "a critical milestone in unlocking the significant inward investment this ambitious project will bring". She added that Buchan Offshore Wind was committed to manufacturing the floating substructures in Scotland, which would "drive a significant proportion of the project's positive economic impacts".

Buchan Offshore Wind will also submit a planning application for onshore works later this year, detailing the project's underground cable route and its connection to the existing transmission network at Peterhead substation.