Scotland Launches GBP 15 Million Fund for Innovative Offshore Wind Foundation Projects

A new £15 million fund has been launched to support innovative solutions for the development of offshore wind turbine foundations, a key component in Scotland’s fast-growing offshore wind sector.

The Scottish Innovative Foundation Technologies Fund, which is open to offshore wind foundation manufacturing projects, will support innovation to develop new prototype foundations for water depths greater than 30 metres.

This type of innovation will drive down the costs of developing foundations for the next generation of offshore wind turbines – the second largest cost associated with this type of project and a barrier to growth in the industry.

Foundation structures currently account for 16 per cent of total offshore wind project costs and it’s estimated that innovation in this area could lead to a 9 per cent saving, contributing significantly to the target of reducing these overall costs by 30 per cent by 2020.

Launching the fund, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fergus Ewing said:

“Offshore wind is one of the world’s most exciting clean-tech sectors where Scotland already plays a leading role. Scotland pioneered the world’s first deep-water offshore wind development and our innovation and offshore engineering expertise will play an increasingly important role as the industry moves to harness the wind further offshore – where both the energy resources and the technical challenges are greater.

“This funding will help maintain Scotland’s position as one of the world’s most attractive destinations for renewable energy investment, development and deployment. It will help lower costs in developing the foundations needed for wind turbines in deeper water and more varied seabed conditions – currently the second largest cost associated with this type of project. It should also benefit Scottish companies through the supply chain, securing jobs and boosting our economic recovery.”

The fund is being managed by Scottish Enterprise and Highland & Islands Enterprise, on behalf of the Scottish Government and will support the development of prototypes from 2014-17.

In the long term, it aims to attract foundation structure manufacturing projects to Scotland, building the Scottish supply chain, and leveraging at least £30million of additional investment from the private sector into offshore renewables.

Maggie McGinlay Director of Energy and Clean Technologies at Scottish Enterprise said:

“We know that our offshore wind sector has huge economic potential and this fund will make a significant contribution to helping reduce the costs of offshore wind and creating an internationally renowned industry in Scotland, adding to existing support already available to the sector such as POWERS and the National Renewables Infrastructure Fund.

“More and more we’re being recognised as a centre for offshore wind research, innovation and manufacturing. This combined with the world-leading experience we’ve build up through oil & gas in the North Sea, has already seen key players in the sector Areva, Samsung, Gamesa and Mitsubishi announce plans to come here. The innovation supported by this fund will act as a further catalyst for the industry in Scotland as we develop a renewables sector that competes on a global scale.”

Calum Davidson, Director of Energy and Low Carbon at Highlands and Islands Enterprise added:

“This Scotland-wide fund is most welcome; given the significant potential it offers to companies to get innovative foundation solutions in to the water more quickly than may otherwise be possible. This in turn will play a significant role in cost-cutting for the industry, helping achieve ambitious cost reduction targets.” 

[mappress]

Press release, April 25, 2013; Image: forewind