Scotland to Develop Deep-Water Wind Power

£15m funding to build better foundations for offshore wind turbines

The Scottish Government is pushing forward to develop wind farms in deeper water off its coasts by creating a £15 million finance initiative, called the Scottish Innovative Foundation Technologies Fund, to help develop deep-water wind turbine foundations, which will prototype supports for wind turbines in water deeper than 30 metres.

Scotland’s waters are estimated to have around a quarter of the European Union’s offshore wind resource and the Scottish Government, working with public sector partners and industry, is determined to maximise the environmental and economic benefits.

Maggie McGinlay, Director of Energy and Clean Technologies at Scottish Enterprise says, “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.”

The costs of foundations currently account for about 16% of total offshore wind project costs, and it is estimated that improvements could lead to a 9% saving, which would contribute significantly to reducing the price of offshore wind and making it more competitive with other forms of power, especially polluting fossil fuels.

The Scottish Innovative Foundation Technologies Fund will operate over a 3-year period starting immediately.  It is open to applications from offshore wind foundation projects suitable for water depths of greater than 30 metres. Further information about applying is available at http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/foundationfund.

Renewable energy generation accounted for more than a third of Scotland’s electricity use in 2011. Scotland exceeded its target for renewable-generated power in 2011, when more than a third of the country’s electricity demand was met by green energy. The Scottish Government is aims to have Scotland generating the equivalent of 100 per cent of domestic electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020, with other capacity from thermal power becoming increasingly decarbonised over the following decade.

 www.offshorewindscotland.org.uk

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