The Highland Council has given ipso facto approval to an application by Dounreay Tri Ltd to construct a demonstration floating offshore wind project off the north coast of Scotland.

At a meeting of the Planning Applications committee of Highland Council during the week of 20 February Councillors agreed to offer no objection to the application by Dounreay Tri Ltd to construct a demonstration floating offshore wind project at a site off the north coast of Caithness about five miles off Dounreay.
The 10 MW twin turbine project will be developed by the Swedish engineering company Hexicon in association with Atkins, and will be located in deeper waters off the northwest coast of Scotland.
Marcus Thor, Dounreay Trì project director, commented: “This demonstration facility which will be built and operated in Scotland opens up the possibility for a significant increase in offshore wind generation and  associated supply chain benefits in Scotland.”
The application to Marine Scotland and Scottish ministers must now be processed by 31 March as the Renewable Obligation Certificate level required is only available to projects approved by that date.
Atkins has worked with Swedish company Hexicon since 2015 to design the world’s first multi-turbine offshore wind floating platform. As engineering partner, Atkins’ offshore wind team is responsible for analysing a two turbine structure and creating a  detailed design and physical model ready for testing.