BP, EnBW Bid for Scottish Offshore Wind Lease, Promising Billions in Investment

By Adria Calatayud

BP PLC said Monday that it and partner EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG have submitted a bid for a lease area off the east coast of Scotland that could support offshore wind projects with capacity to generate 2.9 gigawatts.

BP said a successful bid would bring multi-billion pound investment into Scottish offshore wind projects. The company said its bid seeks to accelerate Scotland's energy transition, and that it would invest in green-hydrogen production and accelerating the expansion of the electric-vehicle charging network.

Applications for the ScotWind leasing round, the first round of offshore-wind leasing in Scottish waters for a decade, closed last Friday and a period of evaluation of the bids will follow.

The BP-EnBW partnership was named as the preferred bidder for two 60-year leases in the Irish Sea in a U.K. offshore-wind leasing round in February, marking BP's entry to the British offshore-wind sector with a record bid.

BP executives have since defended that investment against accusations of overpaying for the leases, arguing the location is superior to other offshore wind projects.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2021 05:06 ET (09:06 GMT)

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