The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult is currently in discussions with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) about potentially acquiring the 7MW offshore wind turbine at Methil for research purposes.
Upon completion of the agreement, the Methil turbine would become the world’s most advanced, open access, offshore wind turbine dedicated to research. It would provide UK industry and academia with unrivalled opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of operations and maintenance of offshore wind turbines and thus drive down the cost of delivering clean energy from offshore wind. It would enable considerable training and development of skills vital for the offshore wind industry, the ORE Catapult explained in a press release.
The discussions are on-going and the ORE Catapult will shortly be seeking quotations through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for Operations & Maintenance support for the turbine in the event of completion of the transfer of ownership.
Image: Graham