OSBIT Power (OP) has begun offshore trials of its offshore wind access system, MaXccess, in Norway.
OP has agreed with Siemens Wind Power and Statoil that the trials will be conducted at Statoil's Hywind demo floating wind turbine. Both, Siemens and Statoil have said MaXccess shows, 'great potential to provide significant benefits to both safety and productivity of their offshore projects'.
Tony Trapp, founder of OP, said, 'There is huge need to reduce costs and increase safety in offshore wind projects.
'For the industry to have a viable future the current situation has to be improved. Transferring personnel is not only one of the most hazardous activities on a wind farm but also a major bottleneck due to the weather limits of current transfer technology.
'With MaXccess OP has created both a safer, more predictable means of transfer and a route to cost reduction through greater accessibility of turbines.'