The Scottish Government has granted consent for the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
But campaigners have called it a “dark day” for sea birds following the green light given to SSE’s Berwick Bank offshore wind farm.
If the 4GW wind farm is built, it could generate over one-and-a-half times more electricity each year than from gas that might be produced with new licences.
But RSPB Scotland had called for plans for the mega offshore windfarm to be refused to protect our globally important seabirds.
The conservation charity warned the development, close to iconic colonies like the Bass Rock, will kill tens of thousands of seabirds over its lifetime, including Kittiwakes, Puffins and Gannets.
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “This is a very dark day for seabirds. It is a terrible decision on a really bad development.
“Berwick Bank would be catastrophic for Scotland’s globally important seabirds which are already facing alarming declines. In addition, its impacts are so damaging they will make the relative impacts of other windfarms significantly higher. This one windfarm is going to make it really challenging to accelerate renewable projects across Scottish seas. We are incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for a project which could catapult some of Scotland’s most-loved seabird species towards extinction.
“RSPB Scotland recognises climate change is one of the biggest threats to seabirds, but there needs to be seabirds left to save. We support nature-positive offshore wind, in the right locations with minimised impacts on wildlife and measures to restore and protect seabird populations. But this is predicted to be one of the most damaging windfarms for birds we are aware of anywhere on the planet.
“We will be carefully scrutinising the details of the consent documents over the coming hours and days and considering what further steps we will take.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the approval had been given after “extremely careful consideration”.
She added: “The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy.”
Ms Forbes continued by saying that it was also an important decision for the renewables sector and the government would continue to work with developers to “balance the needs of people and nature”.
It comes as figures showed green energy made up for over half of the UK’s total electricity generation for the first time last year.
Renewables provided 50.4% of the UK’s electricity last year, up from 46.4% in 2023.
This compares to 31.8% from fossil fuels which was mainly gas, which dipped from 36.7% in 2023.
Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: “UK-based renewables are helping to reduce our dependence on imported fuels as North Sea oil and gas fields continue their unavoidable decline, with figures out today showing that last year renewables supplied a record-breaking 50.4% of our electricity.
“The growth in UK wind and solar has meant that, whereas a decade ago two-thirds of the energy used for UK electricity generation was dependent on foreign fuels, that figure was just under half in 2024.”