When is survey work on the Salamander project likely to start?
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm commenced the site investigations necessary to inform the engineering design of the project and to feed into the Environmental Impact Assessment in summer 2022. These investigations will take place over a number of years. A seabed lease application, through Crown Estate Scotland’s INTOG leasing round, was submitted in November 2022. With regards to construction work, this is not expected until indicatively 2026.
What does a stepping-stone approach mean?
Stepping stone projects like the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm are intended to support the scale-up of Scotland’s offshore wind supply chain. There are a large number of projects under development, for delivery in the 2030s. Salamander Offshore Wind Farm aims to reduce the risk of delivering these large-scale projects by demonstrating the supply chain.
This will help Scotland to capitalise on the opportunity offered by the future offshore wind pipeline. Simply Blue Group have pioneered this stepping-stone approach in the Celtic Sea, with projects within the Blue Gem Wind portfolio. This stepping-stone approach will help floating offshore wind to achievement of an equivalent cost reduction pathway as that followed by the more mature fixed-bottom offshore wind technology over the last decade.
How big are the wind turbines and how many?
The largest turbine currently constructed is the 12 MW developed by General Electric, however considering the timeline for this project, it is likely that the turbines installed here will be in the 15-20 MW range. These will have a rotor diameter of up to 265 m and a blade tip height of up to 325 m. The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm array will have a maximum of seven turbines.
How long will the wind turbines be in place?
Currently, an offshore wind turbine would be expected to have an operating life of approximately 20-25 years depending on the model, weather, and sea conditions. The lifetime of this project is expected to be up to 35 years so the turbines will be on site until the mid-2060s.
Will Salamander be engaging with stakeholders about the Salamander project?
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm’s ethos is to engage actively and openly with a range of key stakeholders throughout the pre-application phase.
Why was this site chosen?
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm site, off the east coast of Scotland, was chosen after a thorough desk-based assessment of wind resource, grid connection, environmental sensitivities and seabed characteristics, among many other considerations. This site selection step took into account the views of different stakeholders with whom we consulted early in our development process.
The sites available for the ScotWind leasing round were identified in the Final Scottish Marine Sectorial Plan (Plan Options) published in October 2020. The Salamander team believes these sites would suit commercial developments (>500 MW) however they would not be suitable for pre-commercial developments. Pre-commercial stepping-stone developments have unique characteristics (small size) but they still need to be competitive from an economic point of view on CfD rounds. Therefore, it is essential that these sites are reasonably close to a potential grid connection (with headroom available in the project timeline) as well as good met-ocean and bathymetric conditions, and no red flags from a consenting point of view.
Has the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm been awarded a lease?
As a pre-commercial project focusing on innovation in the Scottish supply chain, Salamander Offshore Wind Farm was awarded a seabed lease under the Innovation route of Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round in April 2023. The project signed an Exclusivity Agreement for this lease in April 2023 and is is currently engaging with Crown Estate Scotland to secure seabed rights.
How will the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm benefit the community?
We plan to deliver a Community Benefit Fund for the local area. During construction and operation, the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm will also contribute to Aberdeenshire’s economy through employment within the supply chain.
How will you engage the local supply chain?
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm collaborates with the supply chain at every stage to support the scale up of facilities, expertise and workforce. The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm has processes and policies to encourage local employment as a first point of call and plans to use local labour as far as possible. The project engages directly with local direct suppliers and with their suppliers through Scottish Enterprise. The project also provides information on supply chain requirements to Scottish Enterprise.
We’re designing the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm specifically to give local businesses the best possible opportunity to get involved. We’ve already signed agreements with almost 60 local suppliers and ports, and issued Letters of Support for key local supply chain initiatives.
How will you give local companies the opportunity to support the project?
We operate a Supply Chain Portal on our website, which we regularly publicise to encourage prospective suppliers to submit their information.
We also believe that creating local opportunities for the community relies on ensuring the right education and skills programmes are available here. We were delighted to sign a learning partnership with Peterhead Academy in February 2024, committing to working with the school to lend our knowledge and time to support students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) learning.
How does the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm manage potential impacts on landowners?
We’re in regular contact with landowners and will continue to engage as the project develops, to ensure our impact is minimal and that we always act as a good neighbour.
How will the power brought ashore at the landfall be delivered onto the national grid?
The power will be delivered from the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm substation at Lunderton to the grid connection point via a short onward grid development.
The onshore transmission owner (Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN)) is responsible for planning, consenting, consultation, construction and operation of the electricity grid connection between the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm onshore substation and the National Grid. Where possible, the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm will work with SSEN seeking to ensure necessary grid upgrades have a minimal impact on the community and wider environment.
Is the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm aware of the presence of the structures buried on the beach, such as the antitank defences?
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm is aware of these features and is considering them specifically in relation to onshore archaeology and cultural heritage. The offshore export cables will make landfall using a trenchless technique. The target burial depth will be somewhere between 5m and 40m, avoiding disturbance to the beach and existing structures such as the pill boxes and anti-tank defences.
Will local access to the beach and coastal path be maintained during the substation’s construction and operation?
Access to Scotstown Beach and the coastal path will be maintained as far as possible as a result of the project’s decision to have a trenchless landfall beneath the foredunes and beach. During construction, there may be areas of the sand dunes where, for health and safety reasons, there will be temporary access restrictions.
How will access to the substation from the A90 be managed to minimise traffic risk?
We’ll work with Transport Scotland to ensure the design of the proposed new access point meets the required safety standards. As such, we’ve conducted a Road Safety Audit of a new access junction on the A90 near Lunderton which has been submitted to Transport Scotland.
Where will you source the batteries for the EBI?
At this stage of the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm, information on the supply and manufacture of the battery component is not available; this would be developed during detailed design post-consent.
As part of the Salamander Offshore Wind Farm ethos of developing local innovation, where practical, we work with the supply chain to support the industrialisation of more novel battery materials and develop optimal recycling methods to ensure sustainability.
How can I get more information?
Our website provides background information on the project, news and other updates, and a library of documents and resources.
Please follow us on LinkedIn for ongoing updates from the project:
For any additional queries, please contact us at info@salamanderwind.com.
Do you engage with commercial fisheries?
Salamander Offshore Wind Farm recognises the importance of engaging as early as possible with the local fishing community to aid coexistence between the offshore wind and fishing industry where possible. Early engagement with fisheries industry representatives and other stakeholders fed into the site selection process of the project.
The Salamander Offshore Wind Farm is committed to continuing fishing stakeholder engagement consultation and has been a key information source for the EIA. Notices to Mariners will be distributed prior to any works on site, and where applicable, guard vessels and a FLO will be offshore during any works. This information and other relevant mitigation measures will be detailed in the project Fisheries Management and Mitigation Strategy. Salamander welcomes further feedback from fisheries stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
Has Salamander Offshore Wind Farm appointed a Fisheries Liaison Officer (FLO)?
The Project is committed to continuing fishing stakeholder engagement. The project will appoint a company FLO prior to consultation who will be the main point of contact for fisheries stakeholders. Notices to Mariners will be distributed prior to any works on site, and where applicable, guard vessels and a FLO will be offshore during any works.
This information and other relevant mitigation measures will be detailed in the project Fisheries Management and Mitigation Strategy. Salamander would welcome further feedback from fisheries stakeholders.Please contact us at
info@salamanderwind.com with any queries.
How will cables be installed?
Cable installation and burial methods will be informed by geotechnical investigations and confirmed when the installation contractor has been engaged, but these are likely to involve a variety of methods such as jetting, trenching and ploughing. Onshore, we have committed to a trenchless landfall drilling underneath the beach and foredunes to avoid digging a trench across those habitats.
As much as is possible, cables will be buried. Where burial is not achieved additional protection measures such as rock placement or mattressing will be considered. Further information on installation and burial methods will be made available in the application and consent plans, including the Cable Plans and Construction Method Statement.
Do wind turbines impact on seabirds or other marine life?
Any activity in the marine space has the potential to impact on seabirds and other marine life. The project will be designed to minimise the impact on wildlife and will follow best practice established through years of post-development monitoring, observations and research. The development is subject to a full Environmental Impact Assessment and Appropriate Assessment as it progresses through the planning process. Salamander will undertake a robust environmental risk management and mitigation process, including implementing any measures that have been proven to be effective where there is a real risk to the environment.
How will the project minimise any impact on the wildlife and ecology around the dunes during construction and operation of the project?
Environmental Impact Assessment has been undertaken in support of the onshore consent applications, which includes assessment of potential impacts and strategies for mitigating them, where relevant.
Mitigation measures that will be applied to minimise these risks include refining the footprint of the Onshore Development and providing compensatory tree planting.
How will any long-term environmental impacts on marine life and onshore ecology be mitigated?
An Onshore Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been undertaken which assessed the potential impacts on all relevant ecology and species over the proposed lifetime of the project. You can find more details in the EIA Report which has been submitted alongside our onshore consent applications. Similarly, an Offshore EIA was undertaken and accompanied the offshore consent applications, which has been submitted to the Marine Directorate – Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT).
