UK awards £85.6m for offshore wind testing facility

ORE Catapult’s offshore wind testing centre in Blyth, UK, has been given the green light with the announcement that UKRI will provide £85.6 million ($108 million) of capital funding.

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding will be used by Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to expand and upgrade its National Renewable Energy Centre facilities, which are designed to test blades up to 150m and drive trains up to 23MW.

Designs are well underway, with construction expected to begin in the near future. This will be coupled with the existing 100m blade test hall, and the major upgrade to its 15MW drive train test facility, with both expected to be fully commissioned by 2028.

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ORE Catapult claims that the facilities will enable faster product development of turbines and are expected to prevent 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by accelerating deployment by a minimum of eight months.

Both blade and drive train capabilities will have the capacity for further expansion, to 180m and 28MW respectively.

Dr Adam Staines, UKRI Infrastructure Portfolio Director, said: “The project in Blyth demonstrates that investment in the right infrastructure can reduce CO2, support greater energy independence and drive economic benefits that build world-class places to live and work, as well. Working across UKRI with Innovate UK’s Catapult Network and the wider supply chain will help achieve these crucial objectives.”

These facilities will stimulate supply chain development in the UK, create 30 new jobs in Blyth and support 5 PhDs a year, according to ORE Catapult.

Richard Sandford, co-chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council, suggests projects like this will make UK offshore wind projects more cost-competitive and will boost the UK's economy as supply chain companies export the technology overseas.

Dan McGrail, RenewableUK CEO, said: “Investing in ground-breaking research to develop the next generation of turbines is vital if this country is to retain its position as a global trailblazer in innovative offshore wind technology in the face of strong international competition.

"Last month we launched an Industrial Growth Plan for offshore wind which shows how proactively focussing on high-value components such as blades will boost the UK’s economy by £25 billion and support an extra 10,000 jobs over the next ten years. We have an excellent opportunity to build up new offshore wind supply chains, and the cutting-edge work being done by our colleagues at ORE Catapult will help us to achieve this”.