The Scottish Government has approved a licence for the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to operate its 7MW Levenmouth Offshore Wind Demonstration Turbine in Fife until 2029.

The facility is used by UK industry and academia to help develop new energy technologies and optimise offshore wind turbine operations and maintenance.

In the four years it has been running, the test turbine has been used by more than 50 countries and helped to reduce the cost of energy and create more jobs – the current value of ongoing projects associated with the turbine is more than £11 million.

To date, the Scottish Government has provided around £685,000 of funding provided to run technology demonstration projects for small and medium-sized companies.

Andrew Jamieson, CEO of ORE Catapult, said: “Accessing real-world operational sites to test and demonstrate new products and services can be a real barrier to small companies looking to break into the offshore wind market.

“The Levenmouth Turbine offers an easily accessible alternative to demonstrating technologies offshore in harsh and difficult to access sites.”