The Scottish offshore wind sector received a boost this week after a program to lease areas of Scotland’s seabed for wind farm developments raised just under £700 million (around $952 million).

According to Crown Estate Scotland — a public corporation which manages the country’s coastline and seabed — 74 lease applications were made, and 17 were successful.

The program, dubbed ScotWind, raised £699.2 million, or around $951 million. Crown Estate Scotland said the fees would be “passed to the Scottish Government for public spending.”

These facilities have a total capacity of 24,826 megawatts. The U.K. has an offshore wind capacity of just more than 10,463 megawatts, according to RenewableUK. The U.S. Department of Energy defines capacity as “the maximum amount of electricity that a generator can generate when it’s operating at full speed.”

SSE Renewables Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables are some of the most successful applicants. Shell.

Crown Estate Scotland’s chief executive Simon Hodge stated Monday, “The diversity and scale of these projects will proceed onto the next stages demonstrates both the remarkable advancements of the offshore winds sector and a clear indication that Scotland is set up to be a major Hub for the further development and use of this technology in years to come.”

Doug Parr from Greenpeace UK was among those to comment on the lease round. He said that the smooth delivery of these projects was crucial for both the environment and the climate. Additionally, the income generated should be directed to accelerating the UK’s transition to renewable energy.

Parr stated that new renewable power is “vital”, but it does not suffice. We need to insulate our homes, upgrade the energy system and provide support for those working in high-carbon industries that are declining.

Others have responded to the news to highlight the challenges governments worldwide face trying to find a compromise between large-scale, renewable energy projects as well as protecting other areas of the economy.

ElspethMacdonald chief executive, Scottish Fishermen’s Federation stated Monday, “While it’s obvious that Scotland will require substantial additional offshore Renewables in order to achieve its net zero target,”

Furthermore, she stated that there would be an impact on a large area of the ocean floor. She also said that floating offshore wind projects were the most successful. This creates more spatial and coexistence problems for fishermen than fixed turbines.

Aedan Smock, head of policy and advocacy at RSPB Scotland said elsewhere that offshore wind could play an “important role in helping to halt climate change.”

Smith stated that “the offshore wind projects in Scotland have been approved” and would kill hundreds of seabirds each year.

“The potential projects that are being announced today will be much bigger than the existing ones and have a significant impact on those projects.”

Crown Estate Scotland noted that the next few weeks would be challenging after Monday’s leasing round.

This is the initial stage in the long and complex process that these projects have to pass before they can be put into water. As the projects develop through financing, planning and consent, it stated.

The report stated that projects could only move to the full seabed lease after each of these planning steps have been finished.