Pete Wishart MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 8th April 2021

Dear Pete, Simply Blue Group and Subsea 7 Join Forces to Progress Floating Offshore Wind Project I am writing to update you on the recent announcement that Simply Blue has joined forces with Subsea 7 to develop the Salamander floating offshore wind stepping stone project1, representing a significant step forward for its Peterhead proposal. The companies have formed a joint venture partnership, where Subsea 7 has a minority interest, to develop this pre-commercial project. Subsea 7 will bring its proven track record in delivering offshore energy projects, together with the company’s expertise and detailed knowledge of the Scottish supply chain. Simply Blue Energy will bring the floating wind development experience from their projects in UK and Irish waters of the Celtic Sea. Subsea 7, is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Subsea 7 employs more than 11,000 people globally and provides full project lifecycle management from concept to decommission and has delivered over 1000 projects. Within Scotland, with offices in Glasgow and Aberdeen, Subsea 7 has been involved in many projects, notably the Beatrice project where Subsea 7 led the whole execution and currently Seagreen 1 where Subsea 7 is leading the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the foundations and inter array cables. Seagreen’s contract secured 30 jobs within Seaway 7’s Aberdeen office where the EPCI contract will be managed, with this number expected to reach around 50 jobs at the peak of activity. Simply Blue is the leading, early stage blue economy developer of transformative and sustainable floating wind, wave energy and aquaculture projects in Ireland and the UK. Our Head Office is located in Cork, Ireland and we have offices in Edinburgh, Pembroke and Newquay. Simply Blue’s mission is to raise awareness of the oceans’ potential, pioneer marine project development and collaborate with partners to build a sustainable blue economy and communities. Supply Chain Ambitions for the Project With Salamander, Simply Blue’s current pipeline of projects in the UK has the opportunity to deliver up to 60% of the 1GW by 2030 floating wind target set by the UK Government in 20202. The Salamander project is being developed as a stepping-stone project prior to ScotWind to help the Scottish supply chain get ready for that major piece of work. To maximise Scottish content, we intend to use a new floating platform concept that includes several innovations to allow the technology to be manufactured quickly with a high local content. In addition, a low draft requirement for the foundation will enable approximately 50% more Scottish ports to be considered for marshalling and assembly than would otherwise be the case. The Salamander project is currently engaging with the Scottish supply chain with the objective of selecting partners to further collaborate in the next phases of development of the Salamander project. Project Size In order to remain competitive, the permitted capacity of Salamander must keep pace with projects leased in England and Wales. The Crown Estate (TCE) in England recently published their conclusion from the ‘call for evidence’ focused upon driving forward new early-commercial projects by 20303. The consultation response outlined TCE’s intention to design and deliver a new leasing opportunity for early commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea as part of the 1 GW drive. With the generating capacity ceiling to reach 300MW in this new TCE leasing process, it is critical that Crown Estate Scotland (CES) keep pace and matches this project size ambitions as proposed in the Sectoral

1Subsea 7 (March 2021): Subsea 7 joins forces with Simply Blue in Salamander floating offshore wind project 2UK Government (October 2020): New plans to make UK world leader in green energy 3The Crown Estate (March 2021): The Crown Estate to create new floating wind leasing opportunities in the Celtic Sea Marine Plan. Without such a commitment, projects in the North Sea, such as Salamander, will be placed at a commercial disadvantage in Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 6. Leasing and Planning Simply Blue understands there is work underway by CES and Marine Scotland (MS) to enable leasing activities for innovation and oil and gas decarbonisation projects and a request for interest to offshore wind developers is expected in due course. Salamander will participate in this request for interest and will share with CES/ MS the background behind the Salamander project, our supply chain plan and also how the Salamander project fits into Scottish policy and the previously published Sectoral Marine Plan and associated Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA). The Salamander team understands it is crucially important that the plan for this innovation and decarbonisation activity considers cumulative impact from all planned developments. However, it is also important that development is not curtailed based on potential overestimations of the amount of projects and their potential impacts. Next Steps Simply Blue Group will continue to engage with CES and MS on the generating capacity ceiling and other issues raised within the attached previous correspondence. We will endeavour to update you on our progress and activities, and look forward to your continued support. Should you have any questions, please do contact my colleague Ross Stephen at Invicta Public Affairs who are supporting us in this activity ([email protected] or on 0141 212 7222).

Yours sincerely, Christoph Harwood Director of Policy and Strategy Simply Blue Group Pete Wishart MP Chair of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 5th March 2021 Dear Pete, Floating Offshore Wind Off Peterhead

I am writing to you in your capacity as Chair of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee regarding opportunities for floating offshore wind for Scotland and to request a meeting with you to discuss how a ‘stepping stone’ project prior to ScotWind could deliver economic development across Scotland through the supply chain. Stepping stone projects are focused on local supply chains, allowing them to support relatively small projects before the larger, more demanding, projects get underway. We are delivering these in Wales and Ireland and would now like to do this in Scotland. Ambition to Deliver Floating Offshore Wind It is clear that with the growing support of the UK Government towards floating offshore wind, including a target of 1 GW1 for floating offshore wind by 2030 and placement of floating offshore wind technologies within Pot 2 of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) from Auction Round 4 in late 2021, that the market environment to incentivise investment in floating offshore wind exists. This has been matched by The Scottish Government’s target of between 8 - 11 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, as detailed in its Offshore Wind Policy Statement2 and publication of the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy3, which will shape The Crown Estate Scotland (CES)’s leasing process. There are however, three issues that we would like to highlight and seek your input on in the weeks ahead: (1) spatial parameters, (2) site security and (3) project size. 1. Spatial Parameters It has been brought to our attention that Marine Scotland are currently drafting the spatial plan for test and demonstration projects, and we are concerned that our ‘Salamander’ project at 35km off of the coast of Peterhead to be commissioned before the ScotWind projects may be excluded. We understand that there is concern within Marine Scotland from a cumulative impact perspective around the number of test and demonstration projects that may come forward at 100 – 300 MW. However, from an industry perspective we expect the number of projects to be more limited given the time available before ScotWind, after which their value reduces. For a project of these characteristics, it is important to be close to shore or close to the demand centre in order to be viable from an economic point of view. Introducing a new spatial plan for test and demonstration projects curtailing development to very long distances from shore would have the unintended consequence of undermining the viability of this ‘stepping stone’ approach to floating wind in the North Sea and in our view is too blunt an approach. Given that this relatively small project, with a generating capacity of between 100-300MW, will allow the Scottish supply chain to invest and develop their capabilities prior to the larger projects in ScotWind, introducing stringent spatial parameter changes in this way is of great concern to us as a project developer but also to investors and the broader supply chain. We would like to meet with you to understand the ongoing process around setting spatial parameters and update you on this from an industry perspective. 2. Site Security In the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy4, The Scottish Government outlined a 100MW cap for test and demonstration projects. However, all of this is subject to a significant plan review by Marine Scotland. This means that we cannot currently achieve sufficient site security from Crown Estate Scotland to enable us to further invest in a timely manner so as to be ready for the CfD Auction Round in 2025. If we miss that target then the project will be delayed, commissioning at the same time as the ScotWind projects and so not delivering the supply chain learning and development programme.

1UK Government Press Release (October 2020): New plans to make UK world leader in green energy 2Scottish Government (October 2020): Offshore Wind Policy Statement 3Scottish Government (October 2020): Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy 4Scottish Government (October 2020): Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy It is critical for us to receive, by the end of this month at the latest, confirmation from Marine Scotland about whether the site is included in their plan and also confirmation from Crown Estate Scotland about the leasing process they will use to award Option Agreements in 2021. We would appreciate your advice therefore on how we can encourage Crown Estate Scotland and Marine Scotland to accelerate their processes. 3. Project Size The size of test and demonstration projects must keep pace with those in England and Wales. If not, floating offshore wind projects in Scotland will be disadvantaged at future CfD Auction Rounds, in particular at Auction Round 6 in 2025. As you may know, The Crown Estate (TCE) in England held a ‘call for evidence’ around driving forward new early-commercial projects by 2030 in December 20205. This consultation scoped out the market’s views around the scale of pipeline projects and a response from TCE is anticipated shortly. We would like to meet with you to discuss the need for floating offshore wind projects in the North Sea keeping pace with developments elsewhere in the UK. Simply Blue Simply Blue is the leading, early stage blue economy developer of transformative and sustainable floating wind, wave energy and aquaculture projects in Ireland and the UK. Our Head Office is located in Cork, Ireland and we have offices in Edinburgh, Pembroke and Newquay. Simply Blue’s mission is to raise awareness of the oceans’ potential, pioneer marine project development and collaborate with partners to build a sustainable blue economy and communities. We are currently progressing our first floating wind stepping stone projects ‘Erebus’ (96MW) and ‘Valorous’ (300MW) in Welsh waters near Pembroke in a joint venture with Total and ‘Emerald’ (300MW, followed by 700MW) in Irish waters near Cork with Shell New Energies - a deal announced only last month6. We are seeking to deliver the ‘Salamander’ project with a strong investment partner, such as delivered on our Irish and Welsh projects which would enhance the wider economic benefits to Scotland. Next Steps I would be keen to meet with you in the coming weeks to discuss the opportunities that floating offshore wind and the principal issues raised within this letter: spatial parameters, site security and project size. To arrange a time, please do contact my colleague Ross Stephen at Invicta Public Affairs who are supporting us in this activity ([email protected] or on 0141 212 7222). Yours sincerely, Christoph Harwood Director of Policy and Strategy Simply Blue Group

5The Crown Estate (December 2020): Press Release 'TCE signals boost for floating offshore wind with a call for views' 6Offshore Wind Online 'Shell Takes Majority Stake in Irish Floating Wind Project'