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Home / Environment / Coastal Towns Oppose Offshore Wind Turbine Parking Proposal

Coastal Towns Oppose Offshore Wind Turbine Parking Proposal

Summary

  • Coastal communities concerned about plans to park floating wind turbine parts offshore
  • Proposed sites could impact fishing, tourism, and wildlife in protected areas
  • Residents feel they have not been adequately consulted on the project
Coastal Towns Oppose Offshore Wind Turbine Parking Proposal

In November 2025, coastal communities along Scotland's Inner Moray Firth are raising concerns over plans to use offshore sites near Nairn, Culbin, and Findhorn as temporary storage for floating wind turbine parts. The developer, Offshore Solutions Group (OSG), has secured a temporary agreement from Crown Estate Scotland to investigate using these areas of seabed as anchorage for the large concrete or metal platforms.

However, local residents and organizations are voicing strong opposition to the Moray Flow-Park proposal. A public meeting in Findhorn heard worries about the potential impacts on fishing, tourism, and protected wildlife like bottlenose dolphins and other marine species. Residents feel they have been left out of the process, with one local politician stating that the project is being "presented as a done deal" with little public consultation.

OSG maintains that the plans are still in the early stages and that a formal public consultation will take place in 2026 as part of the environmental impact assessment. The company says the temporary storage would be limited to the winter months and would not interfere with the peak tourism season. But local groups remain concerned about the long-term effects on their communities and the surrounding environment.

Disclaimer: This story has been auto-aggregated and auto-summarised by a computer program. This story has not been edited or created by the Feedzop team.

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The Findhorn community is concerned that the proposed offshore wind turbine storage site could have significant impacts on fishing, tourism, and protected wildlife like bottlenose dolphins in the area.
OSG maintains that the plans are still in the early stages and that a formal public consultation will take place in 2026 as part of the environmental impact assessment. The company says the temporary storage would be limited to the winter months and would not interfere with the peak tourism season.
Crown Estate Scotland, which manages the seabed, has given OSG a temporary agreement allowing it to start site investigations. However, Crown Estate Scotland has stated that this is only a proposal at this stage and that a full consultation process would be triggered if OSG decides to submit a formal consent application.

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