Mainstream and Ocean Winds have made big plans for the future of their partnership in recent years. Both in Norway, where they are in a consortium together to bid for Utsira Nord, and in South Korea, where they are developing two projects totaling 1.2GW in the Ulsan Floating Windfarm under the name KF Wind.

And now, Mainstream and Ocean Winds are adding to the wide-scoped project. After initially announcing the development of a 1.8GW floating wind project off Shetland, a neighboring 500MW area is now being added.

”The collaboration between Ocean Winds and Mainstream Renewable Power marks a significant milestone, combining our expertise and resources to develop our largest floating offshore wind farm to date,” said Ocean Winds UK Country Manager, Adam Morrison.

”We have already commenced surveys and a programme of early local engagement, including the fishing industry, and we are committed to working closely with the local community in developing this larger Arven project, which will be a significant driver for the energy transition.”

Both the original site and the new site being added were secured in last year’s Scotwind lease auction. Unlike most of the other areas surrounding Scotland itself, the Arven sites - like an area won by Irish ESB - are located off the coast of Shetland. Although they weren’t actually part of the original auction design.

The project is named after the Danish meaning of the word heritage. Or perhaps more accurately, the Nordic meaning, as Shetland was a Viking colony in the early Middle Ages and has maintained ties with both its Danish neighbor, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, home to Mainstream’s majority owner, Aker Horizon, right up to modern times.

But although the legacy has now grown, it is - with the recent German offshore wind tender in mind - not very large in economic terms. The two areas, now merged into a 2.3GW behemoth, were secured in Scotwind for a total price of GBP 46m.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Simon Øst Vejbæk)