Major wind farm project secures planning consents

The developers behind the proposed 125-turbine West of Orkney wind farm project have now secured both offshore and onshore planning consent.

The site is about 18 miles (30km) off Orkney and 31 miles (50km) north west of Thurso.

It is expected it would deliver enough green electricity to power up to two million homes.

The project still needs to secure a final leasing agreement from Crown Estate Scotland.

Highland Council previously voted to raise no objections to the plans off the north Caithness coast.

The hope is to begin generating electricity by 2029.

Project director Stuart Macauley said: "Its construction would spark significant investment in Scotland's supply chain, port and harbour infrastructure, and the skilled jobs that would follow."

The developers are the first to secure both offshore and onshore planning consent as part of the ScotWind leasing round.

It is an auction of the rights to develop several sites in Scottish waters for offshore wind.