MarramWind is a proposed, large-scale floating offshore wind farm being developed off the north‑east coast of Scotland that could deliver up to 3 GW of capacity. The project sits roughly 75 kilometres (and more broadly 75–110 km) offshore in deep waters (average depth ~111 m) and is promoted by S...
Owners
By 26 January 2026, ScottishPower Renewables had submitted an onshore consent application for the 3 GW MarramWind project, filing a Planning Permission in Principle application with Aberdeenshire Council for the onshore elements, in parallel with the offshore consent application lodged with the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.
On 26 January 2026, ScottishPower Renewables submitted the key development consent applications for the MarramWind project, including its transmission system. The offshore consent application, incorporating the Environmental Impact Assessment, was lodged with the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate, while an onshore Planning Permission in Principle application was filed with Aberdeenshire Council, covering onshore elements such as the export cable corridor and substation works required to connect to SSEN’s Netherton Hub.
On 19 January 2026, MarramWind Limited submitted a Section 36 consent application under the Electricity Act 1989, together with associated marine licence applications, to the Scottish Ministers for the construction and operation of the up to 3 GW MarramWind floating offshore wind farm located 75–110 km off the north‑east coast of Scotland, comprising between 126 and 225 turbines over an area of about 684 km².
Upgrade to access detailed cable specifications, supply chain data, projected timeline, financial analysis, and more.
Following receipt of MarramWind Limited’s Section 36 and marine licence applications and accompanying EIA Report, the Scottish Ministers initiated a statutory public consultation, publishing a notice that makes the applications and EIA available for inspection and invites written representations on the proposed MarramWind Offshore Wind Farm by 6 March 2026.
On 19 January 2026, MarramWind Limited submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the MarramWind Offshore Wind Farm, comprising multiple volumes prepared in December 2025 by WSP UK Limited and approved by MarramWind Limited, to accompany the Section 36 and marine licence applications to the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.
In 2025, MarramWind Limited carried out Statutory Consultation 4, documented in PAC Report Appendix 7, to consult stakeholders on key aspects of the project’s transmission system, including offshore and landfall cables, the offshore export cable route, the onshore export cable corridor, and onshore substation infrastructure connecting to SSEN’s proposed Netherton Hub. The consultation presented information on cable routing options, landfall locations, and the timing of consents, and gathered public and stakeholder feedback to inform the final Environmental Impact Assessment and consent applications.
On 19 December 2025, MarramWind submitted "Marine Licence Application 4 – Offshore Transmission Infrastructure (Phase 3)" for the MarramWind Offshore Wind Farm, providing detailed WGS84 coordinates for the offshore transmission infrastructure corridor and seeking a specific marine licence for this phase of the export system.
By December 2025, MarramWind had advanced engineering of the onshore export cable corridor for the MarramWind Transmission system. Starting from an initial broad triangular route identified for its shorter length, access advantages, and fewer constraints, the project defined Option B linking the landfall(s) to the SSEN Netherton Hub via the MarramWind substation. This Option B route was presented at Statutory Consultation 3 and is being progressed as the preferred location for the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, marking a key milestone in detailed cable corridor definition.
As part of the MarramWind Environmental Impact Assessment, a desk-based assessment of electromagnetic fields associated with the HVAC and HVDC export cables for the offshore transmission works had been carried out by early December 2025, with results to be confirmed later by the selected cable manufacturer once the export cable design is more mature.
MarramWind’s Environmental Impact Assessment Report Volume 1 Chapter 3: Site Selection and Consideration of Alternatives, dated 8 December 2025, set out how the NE7 offshore area and alternative onshore substation and cable corridor options were evaluated and constrained sites discounted, effectively consolidating the project’s mapping of key environmental, technical, landscape and routing constraints to inform the final development envelope.
In November 2025, ScottishPower Renewables and Shell completed a stake swap under which ScottishPower Renewables acquired full ownership of MarramWind (and thus its associated transmission assets), while Shell became the sole owner of the separate CampionWind project before subsequently returning the CampionWind lease to Crown Estate Scotland.
MarramWind planned to let contracts for onshore environmental surveys in 2024, initiating site and environmental investigations needed for the onshore export cable corridor and associated transmission infrastructure.
For 2024, MarramWind identified forthcoming UXO studies as a contract opportunity, indicating planned commencement of unexploded ordnance survey and/or clearance activities along project corridors, including the export cable route for the transmission connection.
On 5 November 2024, an Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) Screening Opinion (reference SCOP-0020) for the MarramWind Offshore Wind Farm was issued at the pre-application stage and recorded on Marine Scotland’s licensing portal, providing a formal regulatory screening outcome for the project ahead of consent applications to the Scottish Ministers.
By January 2024, the MarramWind project team reported that the Export Cable Corridor (ECC) survey had been completed, providing survey data to support route selection and design for the offshore transmission export cable corridor between the wind farm and landfall.
By 20 September 2023, Geoquip Marine had commenced a full offshore geotechnical investigation for MarramWind, with its vessel Seehorn undertaking soil and geotechnical data acquisition to develop an engineering ground model, with survey work scheduled to continue into 2024 including down‑hole campaigns by an integrated geotechnical survey vessel.
By 24 April 2023, ABPmer’s marine ecologists, working on behalf of WSP for MarramWind, had begun a benthic characterisation study based on analysis of geophysical data, and marine physical processes specialists were undertaking geology, oceanography and physical process assessments as key elements of the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment.
ScottishPower and Shell formed a partnership to jointly develop the MarramWind project, including its offshore transmission system, with the two companies identified as partners when they were awarded seabed rights for MarramWind in the 2022 ScotWind auction.
ScottishPower Renewables UK Limited and Shell New Energies UK Ltd formed MarramWind Limited as a 50/50 joint venture company to develop the 3 GW MarramWind floating offshore wind farm within the NE7 Plan Option area, located about 75 km off the north‑east coast of Scotland in water depths of around 100 m.
In December 2022, MarramWind appointed WSP as lead consultant to carry out the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment, with WSP selecting ABPmer to deliver major EIA components, signalling the formal start of detailed EIA and consenting work for the floating offshore wind farm.
The 2022 geophysical survey campaign over the MarramWind offshore wind farm site, initiated in May, was completed by August 2022, providing the project with detailed seabed data for the array area and export route studies.
The shallow (upper 6 m) geotechnical investigations undertaken in conjunction with the 2022 geophysical and environmental survey over the MarramWind offshore wind farm site were completed by August 2022.
The environmental survey component of the combined geophysical, environmental and shallow geotechnical campaign over the MarramWind offshore wind farm area, initiated in May 2022, was concluded by August 2022, completing this phase of baseline data collection.
Following discovery of an uncharted wreck during MarramWind offshore seabed surveys on 2 June 2022, project survey data were shared with authorities and, five days later, a one‑kilometre exclusion zone was established around the site to protect the suspected SS Tobol war grave within the MarramWind survey area, with subsequent work leading to its formal recognition as a war grave and a permanent 250‑metre exclusion zone.
A combined offshore geophysical survey campaign over the MarramWind array area began in May 2022, acquiring seabed geophysical data to support ground‑truthing of the site and inform subsequent engineering and environmental assessments.
Shallow geotechnical investigation works, targeting the upper 6 m below the seafloor, commenced in May 2022 alongside the geophysical and environmental survey over the MarramWind array site to characterise near‑surface soil conditions.
An offshore environmental survey campaign forming part of a combined geophysical, environmental and shallow geotechnical survey over the MarramWind array area started in May 2022 to establish baseline environmental conditions at the site.
An Option to Lease Agreement for the MarramWind Offshore Wind Farm within the Northeast 7 (NE7) Plan Option area was signed in April 2022, formally executing the ScotWind option over the offshore site located 75–110 km northeast of Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire.
On 9 March 2022, ScottishPower and Shell announced that their joint venture ScotWind floating projects, including the 3 GW MarramWind offshore wind farm, will each be supported by a £25 million supply chain stimulus fund, as part of a £75 million package aimed at building Scottish offshore wind capability and helping local companies invest, innovate and upskill for upcoming project opportunities.
MarramWind Awarded option rights under Crown Estate Scotland's ScotWind leasing round, announced on 17 January 2022. ScotWind awarded 17 sites — a mix of fixed-bottom and floating projects — totalling around 25 GW, making it the largest single offshore wind leasing round to date.
An earlier statutory public consultation round, referred to as Statutory Consultation 3 – Onshore, was held for the MarramWind project to present and gather feedback on onshore infrastructure, including the onshore export cable corridor. During this consultation, Option B for the onshore cable route, linking the landfall(s) to the SSEN Netherton Hub via the proposed MarramWind substation, was presented and subsequently progressed as the preferred location for the Environmental Impact Assessment work on the cable corridor and associated transmission works.
Showing historic events only. Subscribe for the full timeline including projected milestones.