The Scot-Govt. has invested another £1.5 million into the Carbon Trust’s world-leading research, development, and demonstration programme – the Offshore Wind Accelerator.
The OWA programme brings together nine of the largest offshore wind power generators in Europe; DONG Energy, EnBW, E.ON, Iberdrola, Innogy, SSE, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall
The investment will allow the continuation of funding for projects to explore potential opportunities that offshore wind can offer to Scotland, ultimately leading to a reduction in costs.
The £1.5 million will be used to fund a range of projects to explore the potential benefits of offshore wind for Scotland. Funding will also go to projects designed to facilitate and encourage international collaboration and knowledge sharing between offshore wind developers, in order to tackle some industry-wide problems, and stimulate innovation in the sector.
One strand of the Offshore Wind Accelerator programme is a project which has recently started to improve fatigue life of welded jacket connections.
The aim of this project is to improve the evidence-base on the real-world performance of welds to prove that they are more durable than currently estimated, which would result in a decrease of the weight of new jacket structures, consequently lowering costs.
Among other fabricators and stakeholders, the OWA is working with Fife-based Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab).
Paul Wheelhouse, MSP, the Scottish Energy Minister, said: “The Carbon Trust has done a fantastic job so far in reducing the costs of offshore wind, as well as encouraging collaboration across the public and private sectors to improve the industry as a whole.
“The potential benefits of offshore wind energy in Scotland are enormous, which is why the Scottish Government is committed to its development. By continuing to invest in it, not only are we stimulating economic change for the better, but we’re also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Jan Matthiesen, Director, the Carbon Trust, added: “This investment signals continuing support for a programme that has helped to reduce the costs of offshore wind and helped to pave the way towards a subsidy-free energy source.”
Scot-Govt. also invested £1.5 million in the Offshore Wind Accelerator in June 2016
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