Other Permit Submitted

On 5 December 2022, an application for a European Protected Species (EPS) Licence associated with the Buchan Offshore Wind project was submitted to Marine Scotland. The application, titled “European Protected Species Licence – Proposed Export Cable Route Geophysical, Geotechnical and Environmental Surveys – Buchan Offshore Wind – 00010207,” relates specifically to survey activities along the proposed export cable route in the Moray Firth. This licence is required because the planned geophysical, geotechnical and environmental surveys have the potential to interact with species and habitats protected under European and UK conservation legislation. The Marine Scotland project page records this EPS Licence Application with a submission date of 2022-12-05, marking a key regulatory step to enable the project’s offshore survey campaign. By lodging this targeted permit application, the Buchan Offshore Wind developer is seeking formal authorisation to undertake these investigations in a manner compliant with protected species requirements. The application sits alongside other pre-application and consent-related documentation for the wind farm on Marine Scotland’s portal, illustrating the progression of regulatory engagement. This EPS licence application is an important enabler for subsequent development work, as the export cable route surveys will inform environmental assessments and engineering design for the transmission infrastructure. Successful processing of this permit by Marine Scotland would allow those surveys to proceed, generating data needed to support later-stage consent and licensing applications for construction and operation of the Buchan Offshore Wind Farm and its offshore transmission system in the Moray Firth.