Engineering news
Britain is set to install flagship two-bladed wind turbines off its coast following the completion of a deal between the Crown Estate and Dutch technology developer 2-B Energy.
Two-bladed designs at this scale are a major innovation for the offshore wind industry and the deployment offshore of these 6MW turbines at Methil, Scotland will be the first in the world of their kind.
2-B Energy has received grant support from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and investment by the Scottish Investment Bank to develop a full-scale onshore prototype in the Netherlands ahead of the two offshore machines planned for Methil, which are anticipated for deployment in 2016 subject to planning consent.
Huub den Rooijen, head of offshore wind at The Crown Estate, said: “In order to fully unlock the potential of offshore wind over the long term, it is vital that opportunities are made available to test and demonstrate innovative and emerging technology platforms to bring down costs and secure the UK’s position as a global leader in offshore wind technology.”
In addition to two-bladed turbine design, 2-B Energy are seeking to further reduce costs by integrating wind turbine technology with innovations in grid and access systems, the installation process and a new operational strategy.
Mikael Jakobsson, chief operating officer for 2-B Energy said: "We have reached an exciting point in the development of our company and the Methil project will be a significant step forward along our pathway to commercialisation. We hope that through this offshore development and demonstration step, and following the completion of our first on-shore demonstrator in early 2015, to be able to validate significant cost reductions in future offshore wind deployment.”
The Crown Estate is involved in many other technology development projects, including Samsung’s 7MW prototype turbine off the coast of Methil and its agreement with Statoil for the UK’s first floating wind farm off the coast of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
Meanwhile, construction on one of the world's largest tidal power projects will begin in the Pentland Firth later this year following a £20.5 million investment, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has announced.
Once completed, the 269-turbine development could power almost 175,000 homes and support more than 100 jobs in the north of Scotland.
The £20.5 million investment was made possible by the Scottish Government's Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) and funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
It is part of a total package of £51 million to MeyGen for the four turbine demonstration phase of its tidal stream array project.
Calum Davidson, HIE's director of energy and low carbon, said: "The MeyGen project is the first commercial scale tidal stream array to be developed and built out.
"It is a huge boost to the Highlands and Islands which is being rightly recognised as a global centre for marine renewables. We have world class wave and tidal conditions here, as well as expertise across the engineering and marine supply chain supported by a skilled and dedicated workforce."
The UK Government has provided £10 million worth of grant funding to the MeyGen project through its Marine Energy Array Demonstrator (MEAD) scheme, set up in 2012 to support marine power projects. Other funders include the Crown Estate and the company Atlantis Resources, the Department of Energy & Climate Change said.