Floating offshore wind projects receive funding boost

Floating offshore wind projects will receive more than £60m in public and private investment to develop new technologies. 

The government has announced that 11 successful projects will each be awarded up to £10m to further research floating offshore wind.

The research will focus on areas such as how turbines are moored to the seabed, undersea cabling, and developing foundation solutions.

The UK is already home to the world’s largest deployment of offshore wind, however floating turbines, which can be deployed in deeper waters than conventional turbines, will boost energy capacity even further by allowing wind farms to be situated in new areas around the UK coastline where wind strengths are at their highest and most productive.

Energy Minister Greg Hands said: ‘We are already a world leader in offshore wind and floating technology is key to unlocking the full potential of the seas around Britain.

‘These innovative projects will help us expand renewable energy further and faster across the UK and help to reduce our exposure volatile global gas prices.’

One project receiving more than £9.6m is a collaborative scheme with bases in Edinburgh, Belfast, London and Doncaster, developing and demonstrating new technologies for mooring floating turbines to the seabed, cable protection, a floating turbine base design and an advanced digital monitoring system.

Director of the Supergen ORE Hub Professor Deborah Greaves said: ‘I am delighted that the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Programme will support new projects in key areas of research and innovation for the ORE sector.

‘The new projects are well aligned with the Research Landscape of the Supergen ORE Hub and demonstrate the great benefit to the sector of academics and industry experts working closely together – utilising their combined knowledge and expertise – to advance the UK’s Net Zero Strategy.’