ABU Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar has bought a stake in Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The announcement came at an official ceremony during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017, and was immediately welcomed by Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Fair Work. He said: “Having met with representatives of Masdar at the Adipec conference late last year, I am greatly encouraged by this substantial international investment in Hywind Scotland and look forward to the further development of this world-leading 30 MW project, which will be situated 15 miles from Scotland’s north-east coast.

“When complete, Hywind Scotland will be the first floating wind farm in the UK and its novel technology offers vast, global potential. This pilot project aims to take advantage of Scotland’s huge offshore wind resource by operating in waters exceeding 100m depth, demonstrating cost-efficient and low-risk solutions for commercial scale parks.

“Major investments, such as this one made by Masdar, highlight the importance of continued investment in offshore wind, are a sign of increasing confidence within the sector, and position Scotland at the forefront of the global race to develop the next generation of offshore wind technologies.”

As part of the deal, Norwegian energy giant Statoil and Masdar have agreed to share the development risk and Masdar will cover 25 per cent of previous and future costs.

Located off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Hywind Scotland consists of five 6MW floating wind turbines anchored to the seabed. The farm covers an area of around four-square kilometres, with the average wind speed in this area of the North Sea being around 10m per second.

The partnership also consists of a collaboration agreement which will enable the two companies to work together on clean energy technologies across several markets in the near future.

Masdar chief executive Al Ramahi said: “Hywind Scotland represents the next stage in the evolution of the offshore wind industry.

“We see tremendous potential in the commercial application of floating offshore wind technologies.”

Hywind Scotland is the second offshore wind partnership between Staoil and Masdar after the Dudgeon wind farm, a 402MW project also due to come on-stream by the second half of 2017.

Dudgeon, Hywind Scotland and the 630MW London Array – the world’s largest offshore wind farm in operation – will bring Masdar’s gross renewable energy generating capacity in the UK to 1.06 gigawatts, enough power to supply 6,600 homes.