UK Announces GBP 5 Million Fund for Offshore Wind Energy

At the Clean Energy Ministerial on 26 April 2012, the Prime Minister welcomed continuing efforts to reduce the costs of offshore wind energy. Innovation has a significant role to play in improving technology and reducing the cost of energy.

This second round of offshore wind innovation funding, with a budget of up to £5m, will help companies developing component technologies that can cut the costs of offshore wind energy in the run up to 2020 and in the subsequent decade.

In the UK Renewables Roadmap, published in July 2011, DECC announced funding of up to £30m of innovation support – subject to value for money assessments – for offshore wind cost reduction. Up to £15m of this support has been allocated to the Offshore Wind Component Technologies Development and Demonstration Scheme, of which the first round of grant awards was completed earlier this year.

This second Call has a broad scope, and can potentially support innovation in the component technologies for all sub-areas of the offshore wind system including, but not limited to, the following:

•  Turbines (large scale i.e. 5MW+),
• Foundations,
• Connection & Transmission,
• Installation
• Operation and Maintenance (O&M)

With a call budget of around £5m capital, the funding will help support the demonstration of component technologies that reduce the cost of wind energy. DECC and the Technology Strategy Board are working together on this scheme. This call is funded and managed by DECC but the Technology Strategy Board has been involved in the scheme design and is participating in the appraisal process.

At the opening of the second call for the Offshore Wind Components scheme, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:

 “Wind energy has great potential here in the UK but we need to ensure turbines work in the most efficient way to cut the costs of generating green power. We have already run a successful first round of our offshore wind innovation scheme and we now have £5million more up for grabs to help companies get their designs off the drawing board and out to sea.”

The closing date for applications is 12.00pm, Friday, 29 June 2012.

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Offshore WIND staff, May 10, 2012; Image: alpha-ventus