The UK Government has unveiled 11 projects that will benefit from a total investment of more than £60M in innovative floating wind technology
The cash boost will further research and development in floating offshore wind with projects across the UK set to receive funding. The research will focus on areas such as how turbines are moored to the seabed, undersea cabling and developing foundation solutions.
Energy Minister Greg Hands said, “We are already a world leader in offshore wind and floating technology is key to unlocking the full potential of the seas around Britain. These innovative projects will help us expand renewable energy further and faster across the UK and help to reduce our exposure to volatile global gas prices.”
In a statement, the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said, “By stimulating development now through the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Programme, the costs of building and locating floating turbines will come down faster, growing the UK supply chain and supporting the target in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan of delivering 1 GW of energy through floating offshore wind by 2030.”
The announcement follows support for floating offshore wind in the fourth allocation round of the contracts for difference scheme, where £24M a year has been ringfenced for floating wind projects. It also follows a government commitment of £160M to develop and build new large-scale floating offshore wind ports and factories in the UK.
The recipients of the funding include:
Responding to the announcement, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult chief executive Andrew Jamieson said, “This is a really welcome joint investment by the UK Government and industry to use research and innovation to drive forward the strategic development of floating offshore wind here in the UK.
“Recent floating wind leasing announcements from ScotWind, and in the Celtic and North Seas, present an unprecedented opportunity for UK innovation to come to the fore and drive economic and supply chain growth and job creation.
“The sheer range of innovative technologies and collaborative partnerships that will benefit from this new investment firmly positions the UK as the global leader in this transformative new technology. We’re excited to be working closely with our partners in many of these projects to realise the huge opportunities this technology presents as we strive to achieve our Net Zero ambitions.”
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