The Scottish Government has granted planning consent for a new floating offshore windfarm located around 15km south-east of Aberdeen.

Permission for the 6MW Kincardine Offshore Windfarm has also been granted by Scotland’s Business, Innovation, and Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse.

Responding to the government’s consent, Scottish Renewables' senior policy manager Lindsay Roberts said: “We’re also at the forefront of innovation in this exciting sector and projects like this one are part of a new chapter for our renewable energy industry.

“The Scottish Government has shown its ambition to generate the equivalent of half of all energy consumed from renewable sources by 2030 and offshore wind can play a key role in meeting that ambition.”

The new facility will feature eight wind turbines and will have a maximum power generation capacity of 50MW.

"This pioneering 50MW Kincardine Offshore Windfarm will produce enough electricity to power almost 56,000 homes."

Wheelhouse said: “Once operational, this pioneering 50MW Kincardine Offshore Windfarm will produce enough electricity to power almost 56,000 homes and will create jobs and investment across Scotland through the use of our supply chain.

“It will also cement our place as one of the world’s leading nations in the innovation and deployment of floating offshore wind.

“If the technology can be demonstrated at scale, it has huge potential to help Scotland meet its energy needs and to develop a supply chain that can service opportunities elsewhere in Europe and in markets such as South East Asia and North America.”

In addition, development of the facility will be able to create approximately 110 new job opportunities during assembly and installation periods, as well as through ongoing operations and maintenance activities.