Buchan offshore project secures onshore planning consent
- Ardesier, Scotland
Scottish floating offshore wind project Buchan, co-developed by BW Ideol, secures onshore planning consent
Buchan Offshore Wind, the 960 MW floating wind project BW Ideol is co-developing with BayWa r.e. and Elicio some 75 km north-east of Fraserburgh, secured planning consent for its onshore infrastructure on Thursday 14 May 2026 — a concrete, positive step for BW Ideol, which holds a 33% stake in the project.
The offshore consent application, submitted to the Scottish Government in August 2025, is expected to be determined by the end of the year. The project has identified BW Ideol's patented Damping Pool® technology as its preferred foundation option. Buchan could become the first customer of the floating foundation factory BW Ideol is developing at Ardersier. The production line — representing an investment of approximately €200M — is sized to produce one foundation every 12 days.
Ardersier complements Fos3F, the second factory BW Ideol is developing at Fos-sur-Mer, selected in 2025 by the European Commission under the Innovation Fund (grant of up to €74M) and supported by the DGFiP through the C3IV tax credit (up to €52M). Targeted capacity: around 500 MW of foundations per year and approximately 1,300 direct jobs, to supply markets across Southern Europe.
Paul de la Guérivière, President of BW Ideol, said: "With Ardersier for Northern Europe and Fos-sur-Mer for the Mediterranean, we cover a major share of the European floating wind market. Our ambition is to deliver the first series-produced floating foundations by 2030, to supply European wind farms and contribute to the continent's energy sovereignty."
Rendering of a BW Ideol concrete floating foundation production line at Ardersier (Scotland); credit: BW Ideol
Buchan Offshore Wind's English release: https://buchanoffshorewind.com/planning-milestone-achieved-by-pioneerin…
