The Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm (“strength of the wind” in Gaelic) lies 15.5 km off the Fife coast in the Firth of Forth. Developed by EDF Renewables and ESB, it will generate 450 MW, powering hundreds of thousands of homes. Construction began in 2020, with completion expected in summer 2025 after pandemic and supply chain delays.

First proposed by Mainstream Renewable Power in 2009, the £1.4 billion project evolved through several designs and ownership changes before EDF took over in 2018. The final plan uses 54 Siemens 8 MW turbines instead of more than 100 smaller ones, reducing visual impact while keeping total capacity. Seabed surveys for the site also revealed the wrecks of two WWI submarines lost during the 1918 Battle of May Island.

Electricity is brought ashore via two 37 km export cables to Thorntonloch Beach, linked to a new substation in the Lammermuir Hills. Massive 180-tonne transformers and reactors were shipped through the Port of Leith, with the first turbine installed in 2023 and power generation starting in late 2024. When complete, Neart na Gaoithe will be one of Scotland’s most modern offshore wind farms — combining clean energy innovation with historical discovery.