Caledonia Quarterly Update

Welcome to the first issue of Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm’s quarterly newsletter, where we’ll be sharing the project’s progress and showcasing team members and their insights along the way.

As we enter a new year and approach the two-year anniversary of Scotwind, it’s a great time to reflect on the project’s successes in 2023.?

First and foremost, I’m proud that we have expanded the team of experts working on Caledonia. These new additions bring a breadth and depth of expertise that will be essential to deliver the project’s expected 2GW capacity, which is enough energy to supply around two million homes with green, low-cost electricity.

Early last year, we submitted our onshore transmission infrastructure scoping report, outlining plans for the infrastructure which will connect the wind farm to the National Grid.

This was followed by series of successful consultation events held across Aberdeenshire in spring. It was great to discuss plans for the onshore infrastructure with local residents and receive such positive feedback, which has become vital in shaping the early stages of Caledonia’s development. As a team, we’re committed to making sure local stakeholders are kept at the heart of the project and understand the benefits to the wider community in terms of jobs and skills and investment in the region. If you’d like to have your say, keep an eye out for our next series of consultation events planned for early this year.

In summer, we completed our two-year offshore geophysical site survey which included the analysis of the area’s birds and marine mammal species, laying the groundwork for our Environmental Impact Assessment. This was followed in October by the completion of our 2023 geotechnical campaign, which provided crucial data for the planning of the project’s design and installation phases.

?Onshore, we completed the first of two ecological surveys which will help refine the project’s onshore transmission infrastructure, minimising potential environmental impacts as far as possible. You can read more about this in this newsletter.

2024 is shaping up to be just as exciting.

Through the effort and dedication of our team, we’re now working towards finalising Caledonia’s Environmental Impact Assessment and submitting our planning application before the year end. ?

I hope you find this first issue insightful, and I look forward to keeping you updated with the project’s progress throughout the year. We’d appreciate your feedback on what you’d like to see covered in April’s issue, which will reflect on what will be a busy first quarter for our team.

Mark Baxter

Project Director

Caledonia’s onshore survey campaign: Minimising impact through ecological studies

We have completed the first of two types of survey that will help inform the project’s onshore transmission infrastructure, which is needed to transport green energy to where it can be used. The Phase 1 Habitat Survey is a broad-scale assessment of an area to identify and classify different habitat types and provides a basis for planning more detailed studies.

Ruaridh Danaher , Onshore Consents Manager, shares more about the survey work:

“The Phase 1 Survey involves a site walkover, where ecologists map and record habitat types, vegetation, land use and key landscape features. We then assign habitat types based on standard classifications to categorise habitats like woodlands, wetlands and grasslands.

“We also document any noteworthy ecological features such as water bodies, hedgerows and particularly diverse and high-quality habitats, and how these habitats support notable or protected species.”??

Having completed the Phase 1 habitat Survey, Caledonia is now conducting species-specific surveys to gather detailed information about the presence, abundance and distribution of particular plant and animal species, with particular attention paid to protected species like amphibians, bats, birds, mammals, reptiles or plants.

These surveys are vital for identifying potential impacts on habitats and species, and plays a major part in preparing Caledonia’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

“The purpose of an EIA is to evaluate the potential impacts a project could have on the environment. Where these impacts are likely to cause significant effects, specific measures – known as mitigation measures – will be taken to reduce or remove such impacts both now, and longer term.

“Alongside the data gathered from surveys, the feedback received from the community will form the basis of the project’s EIA and onshore planning application, which we expect to submit in 2024.”

Read the full article here .

Project Director, Mark Baxter , shares insights in new offshore wind research report

Generating energy through offshore wind is a critical factor in the UK’s net zero ambition, with a target to achieve 50GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.?We have reached a pivotal moment in the development of the UK’s offshore wind industry. What can the UK do to ensure it isn’t blown off course?

Our Project Director, Mark Baxter, recently contributed to FT Longitude and Newton ’s research report: Re-energising Offshore Wind ??

The report surveyed 200 senior leaders in the offshore wind industry to find out how the UK can maximise its world-class offshore wind resources to build a net zero future.?

Make sure to read the full report, here .

Having worked across Ocean Winds’ entire UK portfolio, Catarina Rei brings unmatched expertise and plays a crucial role as Head of Development on Caledonia’s leadership team. We spoke with Cat to learn about her role and the current challenges facing Scotland’s offshore wind industry…

Tell us about your career so far.

As a child, I was fascinated by the animals on wildlife programmes. So, for a long time, I wanted to be a wildlife presenter like Jacques Cousteau or Sir David Attenborough.

After studying Biology Applied to Terrestrial Animal Resources at the University of Lisbon, I became part of a team researching badgers and Iberian wolves in Portugal, following which I lived at the Iberian Wolf Recovery Centre working as an Environmental Education Technician.

In 2004, I moved to Scotland to study an MSc in Environmental Management. Following this, I joined a Scottish environmental consultancy as an ecologist and worked my way up to Principal Environmental Consultancy level.

In 2010, I became the EIA Manager and then offshore consents manager for the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm during its pre-construction and construction phases. I then moved to the Moray West project, where I led onshore and offshore consents, pre-construction requirements and land agreements for the onshore cable route.?

Most recently, I moved to the Caledonia team as the Head of Development, where I’m responsible for delivering Caledonia’s offshore and onshore planning consents as well as overseeing land acquisition activities for the onshore infrastructure.

What excites you about being part of the team leading Caledonia?

The project has been in development for about two years, and we’ve already achieved several significant milestones. Growing a talented team, increasing the site’s capacity to 2GW, and submitting the offshore and onshore scoping reports are just a few of the highlights!

It’s also great to have an experienced team that can pass on learnings from Moray East and Moray West to make sure Caledonia and our other UK projects are successful. For example, we know that stakeholder engagement is key, and we continue to nurture strong relationships in the Moray Firth.

What are the main challenges facing offshore wind development in Scotland today? ?

?The key challenges we must overcome to reach the full potential of Scotland’s offshore wind sector include identifying how we can mitigate and compensate cumulative impacts, actioning necessary grid upgrades so we can deliver energy to consumers, ensuring supply chain readiness, and pushing for ambitious offshore wind targets to guarantee continued industry investment.

What advice would you give those starting out in offshore wind?

Be proactive and “think outside the box”. What will allow us to deliver projects quickly, in a safe and sustainable way? What will make an offshore wind developer stand out in a market that is constantly evolving? Anyone involved in a project can influence how it’s delivered. So be bold!

?When he’s not forming human towers or jumping out of airplanes, Antonio Garcia Gomez spends his 9-5 as Offshore Wind Project Specialist for the Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm. Antonio tells us about his experience moving from city to city, how this influenced his decision to pursue a career in energy, and the main highlights of working on Caledonia so far.

Tell us about your career journey.

As a child, I grew up in a small mountain town in Madrid and since the age of eight, I have lived in a different country every two years, learning and adapting to the culture of each.

This gave me a global perspective and an appreciation of the disadvantages different countries face, which made me want to pursue a career that would have a positive impact on communities around the world.

After graduating with a first-class Hons degree in Energy Engineering from University of Huddersfield, I continued my studies with an MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems at University of Edinburgh.

After university I worked for a small company based in South Africa which specialised in micro-grid solar project installation for villages. I then moved to a Spanish energy developer where I helped develop three onshore substations for a project in Conakry, Guinea.

In 2021, I joined the Ocean Winds graduate programme, during which I worked on the BC-WIND project in Poland before moving onto my current role working on the Caledonia project.

As Offshore Wind Project Specialist, I help manage the design of all offshore transmission assets and generation of the wind farm.

Did you expect your career to take the path it did?

?I went to university with the hope of entering the renewables sector but didn’t expect to join the offshore wind market. At the start of my career, I wanted to support the solar energy market in Third World countries, but ultimately decided I could make a bigger impact through larger projects.

After learning about Ocean Winds, I was impressed at its track record and knew I wanted to be part of the company’s growth. Learning that the Moray East Offshore Wind Project, which I’d read about at university, was part of Ocean Winds’ portfolio confirmed my decision to join the programme. I haven’t looked back since.

What has been the main highlight of working on Caledonia so far?

The team. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms and are always happy to help. I have been invited to join colleagues for stakeholder engagement meetings, site visits and to see the operation and maintenance base in Fraserburgh for Moray East, which are great learning experiences.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I have always loved sports and try a new activity in each city I live in. In Barcelona, I joined the Castellers, where we formed human towers. In Edinburgh, I got my skydiving student license and learned to jump out of a plane alone, and currently in Madrid I’m taking boxing lessons.

In December, Mark Baxter, Project Director, accepted the Contribution to Skills Award on behalf of OW Ocean Winds at the Scottish Renewables Green Energy Awards 2023!

We are very proud of our commitment to preparing the next generation for careers in offshore wind through our partnerships with schools, colleges and universities, as well as our successful outreach initiatives such as our Armed Forces Covenant, helping personnel to transfer existing skills and experience to new careers in the energy industry.

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