http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/investor-news/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/wind/carbon-trust-shortlists-designs-for-offshore-wind-competition.html

 

The UK's Carbon Trust has shortlisted 13 designs for the Offshore Wind Accelerator programme aimed at improving the economics of offshore wind by keeping turbines generating power in the harshest sea conditions and increasing revenues by as much as £3bn.

 

An industry collaboration of eight developers is working on the new designs with include a boat with suspension, a giant robotic arm and a boat resembling a seahorse. The focus on these designs anticipates the environmental conditions of wind farms around 300km from the coast comprised of as many as 2,500 turbines. At the moment the majority of offshore wind facilities are located less than 25km out to sea with relatively calm seas and consist of around 100 units.

At the new planned sites, current access systems would only allow transfers around 210 days of the year. The aim of the competition is to find concepts that can be commercialised and make transfers possible for a minimum of 300 days annually. This would increase turbine availability by four per cent and cut turbine downtime. The winners will receive £100,000 funding to support the design and development of its concept.

Greg Barker, Climate Change Minister, said, 'The UK is leading the world in offshore wind power generation which is creating a huge market here in design, innovation and new technology. These projects represent some of the best ideas to overcome the challenges of working in deeper water to create a cleaner, more cost effective power supply for the future and a greener economy in the UK.'

Benj Sykes, director of innovation at the Carbon Trust, added, 'We've trawled the globe looking for revolutionary new ideas that can transfer engineers safely in the huge swells around the UK's coasts. People have been building boats for thousands of years, but we've seen some truly radical departures from what you would think a boat should look like. These designs could significantly improve the economics of offshore wind and keep our engineers safe far out to sea. Our analysis shows offshore wind is a huge green growth opportunity which could create up to 230,000 jobs in the UK by 2050.'