Project launched to put the wind in offshore innovation

A joint industry project has been launched to investigate the next generation of wind turbine technology. It marks the second phase of a partnership between the Carbon Trust, the Scottish […]

A joint industry project has been launched to investigate the next generation of wind turbine technology.

It marks the second phase of a partnership between the Carbon Trust, the Scottish Government and 12 industry partners including E.ON, Shell, Statoil and Vattenfall.

The organisations hope to overcome a number of common technical challenges relevant to commercial-scale floating wind farms.

They will investigate how increasing the power rating of larger turbines affects the scaling requirements of floating foundations and plan to engage with turbine manufacturers to look into reducing costs through more efficient designs.

A second study will look into new options for heavy lifting during the installation and maintenance of floating wind farms.

These facilities in deeper waters will mean existing methods such as using jack-up vessels will not be viable options and so alternative methods must be identified.

These are expected to include variations on floating-to-floating lifts and mobile solutions such as climbing cranes.

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