Four businesses have been awarded over £4million to spur on innovation in lowering the costs of generating offshore wind energy, UK’s Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker announced today.
The grants have been awarded to 2-B Energy, High Voltage Partial Discharge Ltd, SgurrControl Ltd and Ocean Resource Ltd as part of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) innovation competition to support research and development into offshore wind power.
The winning projects will use the funding to steam-line the design and installation of offshore wind turbines, which could lead to significant reductions in the cost of offshore wind. For example, the 2-B Energy project has the potential to bring down the cost of offshore wind by as much as 35%.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:
“The UK is already the world leader in offshore wind – with more deployed than any other country. The benefits that offshore wind can bring are clear – from enhancing our energy security, reducing our dependence on imports and helping reduce our carbon emissions. Innovation is critical to cutting the cost of this low-carbon power source, which could in turn lead to lower bills for hardworking consumers. I wish the winners every success with their projects.”
Press release, March 18, 2014; Image: 2-B Energy