Thistle Wind Partners

What Thistle Wind Partners does

Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) is an Edinburgh-headquartered offshore wind developer established following the January 2022 ScotWind seabed leasing round, in which Crown Estate Scotland awarded the company exclusive option agreements over two Scottish North Sea sites: Bowdun, a 1GW fixed-foundation project located approximately 44 km off Stonehaven in the Aberdeenshire coast E3 leasing zone (187 km²), and Ayre, a 1GW floating-wind project located east of Orkney. The combined portfolio is designed to generate enough renewable electricity to power roughly two million homes, with planned investment of £2.4bn across the Scottish supply chain, over 700 construction-phase jobs at Bowdun alone, and approximately 160 permanent operational roles split between Aberdeenshire and North of Scotland O&M bases.

TWP is owned by a consortium of three strategic renewables shareholders: DEME Group (majority, through DEME Concessions), a Belgian marine engineering and offshore wind contractor with 2,500 turbines installed globally; Aspiravi (30%), a Belgian renewable energy company with more than 1GW of installed North Sea capacity; and Qair, the developer-owner of Ayre and a market leader in floating wind innovation (currently completing the Eolmed floating wind farm in France). The company is staffed by an experienced team drawn from DEME, SSE Renewables, Iberdrola, Ørsted, Vestas Offshore, Siemens Gamesa, Senvion, Balfour Beatty, and Fugro, and operates across engineering, consenting, environment, supply chain, grid, and stakeholder engagement functions with approximately 35 employees.

The business model is infrastructure-development rather than software or recurring services: TWP secures seabed leases, progresses projects through the UK and Scottish regulatory consenting process (Section 36 consent, marine licences, Section 36 onshore planning, and grid connection allocation via NESO's HND-FUE), pre-qualifies Scottish suppliers through its Supply Chain Pathways Programme, and ultimately intends to operate the wind farms generating electricity sold to the National Grid under Contract for Difference mechanisms. DEME Offshore is contracted as the Tier 1 EPCI delivery partner, while SSEN Transmission owns the onshore substations (Hurlie for Bowdun, Banniskirk Hub for Ayre) required for grid connection. TWP is not yet revenue-generating; all activity to date has been consent-stage project development.

Name

Thistle Wind Partners

Legal name

Thistle Wind Partners Limited

Website

https://thistlewindpartners.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Edinburgh-headquartered offshore wind developer developing the 1GW Bowdun (fixed-bottom) and 1GW Ayre (floating) projects in Scottish waters under a DEME-led consortium, targeting consent-stage delivery and eventual power sales to the National Grid.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Offshore Wind Farm Development

NAICS

Wind Electric Power Generation (221115)

SIC

Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Offshore Wind Project Development & Leasing (EUAMACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Offshore Wind Power Generation (Fixed-Bottom) (EUACAFAB), Offshore Wind Power Generation (Floating) (EUACAFAC), Wind Farm Development & Permitting (Greenfield/Brownfield) (EUACAFAE), Wind Grid Interconnection & Power Systems (Transformers, Reactive Power, SCADA) (EUAMACAK)

Keywords

• Offshore wind development
• Renewable energy projects
• Fixed-bottom wind farms
• Floating offshore wind
• ScotWind lease development

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh, Scotland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Offshore Wind Farm Development and Operation: TWP develops offshore wind farms through ScotWind leasing process, obtains necessary consents, and will operate the wind farms generating renewable electricity sold to the national grid. Revenue will be generated through power sales and potentially Contract for Difference (CfD) mechanisms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Thistle Wind Partners is an offshore wind project developer developing two large-scale ScotWind lease projects: Bowdun (1GW fixed-foundation offshore wind farm off the Aberdeenshire coast) and Ayre (1GW floating offshore wind farm east of Orkney). The company takes projects through seabed leasing, environmental assessment, Section 36 and marine licensing consents, onshore planning, supply chain development, and into construction and operation. Future revenue is generated by selling the renewable electricity generated to the national grid, potentially under Contract for Difference (CfD) support.

Product overview

Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) is an Edinburgh-based offshore wind developer operating two distinct offshore wind farm projects: Bowdun (fixed-foundation, 1GW capacity) located off Aberdeenshire coast, and Ayre (floating wind, 1GW capacity) east of Orkney. These projects are supported by a Supply Chain Pathways Programme that maximises Scottish supply chain content, a Supply Chain Database for supplier registration, and a Virtual Exhibition Hall for stakeholder engagement. Together, the portfolio represents over 2GW of planned offshore wind capacity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bowdun Offshore Wind Farm Proposed fixed-foundation offshore wind development in the E3 leasing zone in the North Sea off the south Aberdeenshire coast, approximately 44km from Stonehaven, with 1GW capacity capable of powering over 1.2 million households.
• Ayre Offshore Wind Farm Floating offshore wind project located east of Orkney, contributing 1GW of renewable energy capable of powering more than 1.2 million households, being developed in partnership with owner Qair.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2GW combined offshore wind capacity across Bowdun and Ayre projects
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SSEN TransmissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SSEN Transmission is the Transmission Owner in the regions of both TWP projects and is responsible for electricity transmission infrastructure. Grid connections are allocated at SSEN Transmission proposed substations: Banniskirk Hub for Ayre and Hurlie substation for Bowdun.
• National Energy System Operator (NESO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025NESO allocates grid connection points for offshore wind projects and undertook the Holistic Network Design Follow-up Exercise (HND-FUE) to identify grid connections for ScotWind projects.
• DEME OffshorecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023DEME Offshore serves as the Tier 1 EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation) contractor for TWP's projects, with experience installing 2,500 offshore wind turbines globally. The company is overseeing pre-qualification of local firms as suppliers for the projects.
• Crown Estate ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Crown Estate Scotland awarded TWP the ScotWind seabed leases for the Bowdun and Ayre project areas during the January 2022 leasing round, granting option agreements to build offshore wind farms in Scottish waters.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ørsted: Ørsted is the global leader in offshore wind and a ScotWind option holder with the 1.3GW Hornsea Three among its UK portfolio. Comparable as a large-scale offshore wind developer pursuing Scottish seabed leases and consents via the same regulatory framework.
• EDF Renewables: EDF Renewables is a ScotWind award winner pursuing both fixed-bottom and floating projects in Scotland. It shares TWP's regulatory route, CfD exposure, and supply chain engagement model.
• SSE Renewables: SSE Renewables is one of the largest UK/Scottish offshore wind developers with multiple operational and ScotWind projects (including Berwick Bank, Dogger Bank). It develops both fixed-bottom and floating projects in Scotland and shares TWP's geography, regulatory pathway, and supply chain ecosystem.
• ScottishPower Renewables (Iberdrola): ScottishPower Renewables (Iberdrola subsidiary) is a major UK offshore wind developer with ScotWind options and an operational portfolio. Like TWP, it focuses on large-scale Scottish offshore wind projects and pursues the same consent and grid pathways.
• Vattenfall: Vattenfall is a major European offshore wind developer with ScotWind options and a UK pipeline. It pursues the same Scottish consenting and CfD processes and is a benchmark for project economics in the region.
• ESB: ESB is an Irish utility with ScotWind option holdings and offshore wind development interests in Scotland. It is comparable in scale and approach to TWP as a utility-backed offshore wind developer pursuing multi-GW Scottish opportunities.

Direct peers

• Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP): CIP is a leading infra-style fund focused on offshore wind and a ScotWind option holder with multiple Scottish sites. It is one of the most directly comparable mid-cap developers pursuing multi-GW Scottish offshore wind projects through similar consortia and financing structures.
• Mainstream Renewable Power: Mainstream Renewable Power is a global wind and solar developer with offshore wind interests in Scotland including ScotWind awards. It is comparable to TWP as a multi-tech developer pursuing similar Scottish consenting and grid connection pathways.
• BlueFloat Energy: BlueFloat Energy is a specialist floating offshore wind developer with ScotWind options (e.g., around the Buchan Deep). It is the most analogous direct competitor to TWP's Ayre project, sharing the floating-wind commercial proposition and Scottish seabed lease footprint.

Others

• DEME Concessions (parent / shareholder): DEME Concessions is the majority shareholder of TWP and a global developer/operator of offshore wind concessions. It is thematically linked as a co-developer of TWP's projects rather than a direct competitor, providing reference economics and execution benchmarks for the Bowdun project.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ThistleWindPartners
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thistle Wind Partners