--- title: "Muir Mhor manager urges UK and Scottish governments to expedite offshore wind consents" publisher: "Stockmark.IT" author: "Stockmark.IT Website" published: "2026-10-09T07:20:56+00:00" modified: "2026-10-09T07:20:56+00:00" date: 2026-10-09 canonical: "https://stockmark.it/muir-mhor-wind-farm-boss-calls-out-government-approval-timeline/" category: "Business" categories: ["Business", "Infrastructure"] image: "https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/muir-mhor-manager-urges-uk-and-scottish-governments-to.png?fit=1536%2C1024&quality=80&ssl=1" format: "news" language: "en-GB" --- # Muir Mhor manager urges UK and Scottish governments to expedite offshore wind consents **Published:** October 9, 2026 **Author:** Stockmark.IT Website **Categories:** Business, Infrastructure **Featured image:** ![Muir Mhor manager urges UK and Scottish governments to expedite offshore wind consents](https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/muir-mhor-manager-urges-uk-and-scottish-governments-to.png?fit=1536%2C1024&quality=80&ssl=1) --- Alan Duncan, the supply chain manager for the Muir Mhor floating wind farm, has called on both the UK and Scottish governments to accelerate the approval process for offshore renewable energy projects. Speaking at an event in Aberdeen, Duncan highlighted the prolonged waiting times for consents as a critical barrier that threatens to undermine Scotland’s leading position in the global floating wind sector. He urged policymakers to prioritise the completion of offshore consents to allow developers to proceed with their projects and demonstrate the sector’s potential. The Muir Mhor project, developed by Fred Olsen Seawind with former project partner Vattenfall, submitted its offshore consent applications to the Scottish Government in late 2024. These submissions followed the conclusion of a 12-month consultation period with local communities and stakeholders. Muir Mhor holds the distinction of being the first floating project to secure a lease in the 2022 ScotWind leasing round to file its offshore consenting application. The application was submitted concurrently with the necessary transmission infrastructure and onshore transmission applications. While the project received consent for its onshore works from Aberdeenshire Council in June of last year, it remains unable to apply for a contract for difference under the UK government’s Allocation Round scheme without first obtaining offshore sign-off from the Scottish Government. The delay in securing approvals is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern affecting Scottish wind farms. SSE Renewables’ Berwick Bank wind farm, which successfully secured a contract for difference in this year’s Allocation Round 7, was previously unable to apply for the preceding Allocation Round 6 due to similar approval delays. That project waited over two years for consent, having submitted its applications in 2022 and only receiving sign-off in 2025. Such timelines create significant frustration among developers and delay their ability to bid for financial support, impacting the overall pace of sector development. The concerns raised by Duncan were echoed by ETZ Ltd chief executive, who noted a shift in the industry’s outlook. She observed that discussions at recent conferences have moved from debating when the commercialisation of floating wind will occur to questioning if it will happen at all for many projects. She identified two primary obstacles: the strategic spatial energy plan, for which the UK government is yet to make a decision, and transmission network use of system charges. Both factors pose challenges for Scottish offshore wind projects, whether floating or fixed-bottom, as they seek to generate electricity and sell it into the UK grid. The ETZ chief executive criticised the gap between government ambition and action, stating that none of the floating wind projects she identified as awaiting consent a year ago have since received approval. She argued that transmission network use of system charges, which impose higher costs on projects located further from population centres, erode project value and raise financing costs. Although the UK government has pledged reform for 2029, she described this timeline as insufficient, comparing it to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. She further warned that the outcome of the strategic spatial energy plan will shape the scale and location of generation through to 2050, with the wrong pathway potentially eliminating the possibility of near-term floating wind development off Scotland’s shores. Industry leaders at the Floating Offshore Wind Conference in Aberdeen have emphasised the urgency of the situation. Scottish Renewables chief executive Angela Hepworth warned that the window for the UK and Scotland to lead the global development of this sector is closing. Clare Lavelle, co-chairwoman of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council, argued that only a small number of decisions are needed to fundamentally change the landscape in a positive way, with the strategic spatial energy plan being critical to this process. The ETZ chief executive concluded by placing the responsibility squarely on governments, noting that the major problems facing the sector are within their power to solve and must be addressed immediately to prevent further pauses in activity and investment. --- **Original URL:** https://stockmark.it/muir-mhor-wind-farm-boss-calls-out-government-approval-timeline/ *Created by [WP Markdown Endpoint](https://wpmarkdownendpoint.com/)*