Delivering the green energy the world needs a renewable energy pioneer

The GB offshore wind market is the largest globally and will remain so with the UK government aiming to deliver 50GW by 2030 and the UK Committee on Climate Change identifying the need for at least 75GW by 2050 to meet the overall net zero target.

Ireland is a nascent market for offshore wind with huge potential. The Irish Government is targeting 7GW of offshore wind by 2030.

We are in an exceptional market position in GB and Ireland with our proven capabilities and significant secured pipeline of offshore wind projects. Our unrivalled pipeline includes the addition of our first floating offshore wind project, up to 2.6GW off the coast of Scotland, to our domestic pipeline with consortium success in Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind offshore wind seabed leasing process.

We have a strong track record of developing, constructing and operating onshore wind in GB and Ireland. We’ve built up one of the largest onshore wind portfolio of any developer across the two markets.

As one of the lowest cost renewable technologies, onshore wind will continue to play a very important role in helping the UK and Ireland meet their decarbonisation targets. This is supported by a clear route to market for onshore wind in both markets.

Looking ahead, we have a development pipeline of over 1GW onshore wind that we are confident of delivering in the coming years.

We have a long history in building and operating hydro assets, and it remains a key part of our future too. Our portfolio of hydro and storage assets in the UK already plays a vital role in providing low carbon, flexible electricity to accommodate more renewables on to the system. These assets will become even more important going forward, so we are working to ensure that they are enhanced and optimised to meet the needs of a de-carbonised electricity system.

We're currently investing in works to modify some of our key stations, Sloy, Glendoe and Errochty, to increase their capability in providing essential services to the grid. And in April 2022, we commenced a £50m investment to upgrade Tummel Bridge power station which will increase the station’s potential power output from 34MW to 40MW by Autumn 2023.

We're continuing to see positive progress on our consented Coire Glas pumped hydro storage project (up to 1,500MW). Coire Glas would double the current amount of electricity storage capacity in Great Britain and create energy storage capacity of 30GWh, equivalent to powering around 3m homes for up to 24 hours.

In the emerging Power-to-X sector, we also have ambitions to develop, build and operate more than 1GW of ‘green’ hydrogen in industrial clusters and co-located with wind by 2031.

Globally, the demand for renewables is on the rise. There is strong renewables growth potential in international markets where we can extend our capabilities and diversify our pipeline.

We are actively exploring opportunities to extend into selected new international markets in North America, Northern Europe and Asia Pacific.

In September 2021, we progressed into Japan with the creation of a new joint ownership company, SSE Pacifico (80% stake), which will develop an acquired 10GW gross portfolio of early development stage offshore wind projects.

In April 2022 we entered into an agreement with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for the acquisition of an onshore wind development platform totalling c.3.9GW across Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The portfolio includes scope for up to 1GW of additional co-located solar development opportunities.

In Northern Europe we have submitted applications to the Polish and Netherlands governments for new offshore wind development sites, and we're exploring opportunities for offshore sites in Spain.