Notice is hereby given that Offshore Wind Power Limited (“OWPL”), registered under company registration SC605260 at Clava House, Cradlehall Business Park, Inverness, United Kingdom, IV2 5GH, has applied to the Scottish Ministers for:

• consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989;

• declaration under section 36A of the Electricity Act 1989; and

• marine licences under section 20 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and section 65 ofthe Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009;

to construct and operate an offshore windfarm (including associated offshore transmission infrastructure) located within the N1 Plan Option (identified in the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy), approximately 28 km west of Hoy, Orkney and 23 km north from Strathy Point, Caithness with a maximum area of 657 km² (central latitude and longitude co-ordinates: 58° 54' 55.686" N., 004° 11' 34.532" W (WGS84)). The installed capacity of the proposed generating station would be approximately 2000 MW comprising of up to 125 turbines with a maximum rotor tip height of 359.52 metres above Lowest Astronomical Tide.

The proposed development is subject to an environmental impact assessment (“EIA”) under the EIA regulations listed above.

Hard copies of the applications including plans detailing the location, together with a copy of the EIA report discussing OWPL’s proposed development in more detail and presenting an analysis of the environmental implications, are available for inspection, free of charge at:

• Thurso Library – Davidson’s Lane, Thurso, KW14 7AF (open Monday and Wednesday,10am – 6pm, Tuesday and Friday, 10am – 8pm, Thursday and Saturday, 10am –1pm).

• Bettyhill Hotel – A836, Bettyhill, KW14 7SP (open Monday to Sunday 3pm – 10.30pm)

• The Highland Council Headquarters - Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX (openMonday to Friday, 8am – 4pm)

• Orkney Library & Archive – 44 Junction Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1AG (openMonday to Thursday, 10am – 6pm, Friday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm) PDF Voucher Copy Account: 950006315 Reference: FK15 9FB

• The Stromness Library – 2-12 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3AA (open Monday to Friday, 10am – 4pm, Saturday, 12pm – 3pm)

• Xodus Group – 8 Garson Place, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3EE (open Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm)

• West of Orkney Windfarm – 32 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4ET (open Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm)

The EIA report can also be viewed online at https://marine.gov.scot/ml/west-orkney-wind-farm and https://www.westoforkney.com/. Copies of the EIA report may also be obtained from OWPL (Tel 0787 524 5015) at a charge of £350 hard copy and £10 on CD/USB stick (including post and packaging). Copies of a short non-technical summary are available free of charge.

Any representations should be made in writing to the Scottish Ministers by email to: ms.marinerenewables@gov.scot or by post to The Scottish Government, Marine Scotland Licensing Operations Team, Marine Laboratory, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen, AB11 9DB, identifying the proposed development and specifying the grounds for the representation, not later than Monday 20th November 2023. The Scottish Ministers may however consider representations received after this date. Representations should be dated and should clearly state the name (in block capitals) and the email or postal address of those making the representation.

Subsequent submission by OWPL of additional or further information (as defined in the above EIA regulations) to the Scottish Ministers will be publicised in a similar manner to the current application including publication on the above websites. Representations relative to additional or further information should be made on the same basis as detailed above.

Where the Scottish Ministers decide to exercise their discretion to do so the Scottish Ministers can cause a Public Local Inquiry (“PLI”) to be held.

Having considered the applications, the environmental information and the above legislation together with any representations received, the Scottish Ministers may:-

• Consent to the proposed development, with or without conditions attached; or

• Reject the proposed development.

Fair Processing Notice

The Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate Licensing Operations Team (“MD-LOT”) determine applications for marine licences under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and section 36 consents under The Electricity Act 1989. During the consultation process any person having an interest in the outcome of the application may make a representation to MD-LOT. The representation may contain personal information, for example a name or address. This representation will only be used for the purpose of determining an application and will be stored securely in the Scottish Government’s official corporate record. Representations will be shared with the applicant and/or agent acting on behalf of the applicant, any people or organisations that we consult in relation to the application, the Directorate of Planning and Environmental Appeals should the Scottish Ministers call a PLI and, where necessary, be published online, however personal information will be removed before sharing or publishing.

A full privacy notice can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/marine-licensing-and-consenting-privacy-notice/ If you are unable to access this, or you have any queries or concerns about how your personal information will be handled, contact ms.marinerenewables@gov.scot or MD-LOT, Marine Laboratory, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen, AB11 9DB.