Electricity from a newly developed wind farm off the coast of Scotland in the north of the UK may be used to power the Rosebank oil field. 

Rosebank, the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in the UK, is set to be approved by regulators within the next two weeks. It is expected to produce more than 500 million barrels of oil in its lifetime, equating to 8% of the UK’s entire expected output between 2026 and 2030.  

Approval of the project is contingent on its potential emissions. Norwegian energy company Equinor, the development’s main backer, has vowed to strive for the “lowest possible carbon footprint” for the project. 

The environmental statement submitted to the UK Government by Equinor discusses Rosebank’s electrification potential.  

“Electrification connected to the electrical grid on Shetland has the greatest potential for greenhouse gas reduction with the proposed wind farms on Shetland providing a low carbon source of energy via cable,” the statement outlines.  

Viking Windfarm, located on the Scottish island of Shetland, is a 103-turbine wind farm that will have 443MW of onshore capacity when completed. Campaigners have cautioned against a potential monopoly that Rosebank would have over the power produced by Viking Windfarm. 

The project will use “vast amounts of cheap, clean energy that could be used to power hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, it will end up actively reducing the UK’s energy security. This would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious,” Tessa Khan, executive director of environmental campaign group Uplift, told the Guardian. 

“More detailed system analyses will be required; however, sufficient technical information about the onshore grid and the HVDC link between Shetland and the UK mainland is not yet available for these analyses to be performed,” Equinor adds.  

UK North Sea drilling controversy 

Rosebank has proven controversial in the UK where ministers are currently debating future oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in May that it would be “economically illiterate” not to invest in UK fossil fuels for the next few decades, hinting at Rosebank approval. Opposition leaders have said that they would not support any new drilling in the North Sea if elected. 

Environmentalists have warned that Rosebank could threaten the UK’s climate commitments with operations from the oil field alone exceeding the national carbon budget. 

UK Energy Secretary Grant Shapps remains committed to oil and gas production as a means of ensuring the UK’s energy security. 

Equinor told reporters that Rosebank has “the potential to strengthen energy security with oil and gas that is produced with a much lower carbon footprint than current UK production”.