A key milestone has been reached in the development of a giant windfarm project that has been ten years in the making and will bring benefits to the UK supply chain.

The joint owners of Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, ESB and Red Rock Renewables, have raised more than £3.5 billion for the project via 22 commercial banks.

The 1,080 megawatt farm, located in the North Sea 15 kilometres off the Angus coast, will now progress to its offshore construction phase in the second quarter of this year.

It will comprise 72 turbines, a single offshore substation platform and two 85 km export cables delivering power to an onshore substation under construction at Cockenzie, East Lothian.

The offshore substation jacket foundation and offshore platform are nearing completion at Smulders, Wallsend. Port of Montrose will be the construction base, while Forth Ports facilities in Dundee and Leith will provide marshalling.

It is the largest infrastructure project currently in construction in Scotland and will deliver huge quantities of clean low-cost energy once completed in 2027.

Inch Cape was first awarded planning consent in 2014 but since then has evolved to incorporate the latest technology and design. It has a 50-year lease with Crown Estate Scotland and has secured 15-year contracts with the Low Carbon Contracts Company through the UK Government’s Contract for Difference auctions of 2022 and 2024.

The project will make a significant contribution to UK’s energy security and emissions reduction targets as well as to the economy through use of local suppliers. Inch Cape has, to-date, spent almost £300 million with more than 300 UK companies including environmental, technical and engineering design consultancies, civil and structural engineers, survey contractors and project management support.

Paul Lennon at ESB, said: “Reaching this major milestone of financial close is a significant achievement for ESB, Red Rock Renewables and the whole project team. It is testament to the resilience, expertise and capability of the project team, project partners and both shareholders.”

Xiaomeng Chen, Red Rock Renewables CEO, said progress made is “a testament to the efficient design and cutting-edge technologies employed by the project, highlighting our resilience and commitment to making it one of the largest green investments in Scotland while contributing to the UK’s net zero goals.”

Inch Cape project director John Hill said he was “very proud for the project team – it is a great achievement to reach financial close on the Inch Cape project, which is at the forefront of technology in the offshore wind industry.”