The Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, situated 15km off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, marks another remarkable step in Scotland’s renewable energy journey.
Featuring up to 72 turbines, the power generated by the site will be transported 85 kilometers to a new substation based in Cockenzie, East Lothian, before joining the National Grid. From here, it is set to power the equivalent of more than half of the homes in Scotland.
Marking a significant contribution towards the UK’s wind energy ambitions, the project, in development by Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL), represents approximately £3 billion investment in the UK’s electrical infrastructure network, making a meaningful contribution to the UK Government’s target of 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
In 2022, K2 Management was appointed by Inch Cape to operate as lender’s technical adviser on the project, building on a previous 12-month collaboration that saw K2 Management deliver an initial view on project bankability, design optimisation and early-stage risk mitigation.
As the project’s lender’s technical adviser, the K2 Management team tapped into its 15 years of experience in the offshore wind sector to support ICOL during project financing. Likewise, the team also provided technical due diligence on all aspects of the project design, delivery, and operations, as well as providing a bank launch and financial close report for lenders.
Under K2 Management’s expert guidance, the project’s stakeholders had a seamless experience that saw ICOL move forward with a business case to successfully secure financial close. This is despite the project’s huge scale and complexity. When complete, the site is set to deliver 10% of the Scottish Government’s ambition of 11GW of offshore wind capacity installed by 2030.
“Working alongside ICOL as a strategic partner has allowed us to support the development of a significant addition to the offshore wind pipeline in Scotland,” shares Bethany Rowson, Senior Consultant at K2 Management. “With ever more sizable projects in more extreme environments, both long-standing and emergent offshore wind developers and investors need - more than ever before - total clarity on the financial and development challenges that projects of this scale entail.”
K2 Management’s engagement with ICOL has largely been driven by the consultancy’s Scottish arm, based in Glasgow, also tapping into the global expertise held by K2 Management’s offshore wind experts across the globe.
K2 Management's Bethan Rowson further shared: “With our long heritage and global track record, we are able to leverage our experience in early-stage offshore wind development to provide utilities, IPPS, lenders and investors with the full picture on the preliminary risk management required to keep projects moving through the development life cycle.”