The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult has completed the acquisition of the Levenmouth 7MW demonstration offshore wind turbine, located off the East Fife coast, Scotland, from Samsung Heavy Industries.
The turbine becomes the world’s most advanced, open access, offshore wind turbine dedicated to research, and offers opportunities for considerable training and development of skills vital for the future of the offshore wind industry.
ORE Catapult is working with Fife Council and local educational bodies on the development of what is intended to be a world-leading skills and training programmes in renewable technologies to will support the development of Levenmouth as a global centre of excellence in offshore wind. Energy consultancy SgurrEnergy has been appointed as O&M contractor, and will manage day to day running of the turbine.
The Catapult will now undertake a planned period of operation and familiarisation of the turbine alongside SHI, whilst continuing to develop R&D activities covering multiple areas of offshore wind operations.
It is hoped that the installation will offer UK industry and academia an unrivalled opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of technologies as well as the operations and maintenance aspects of offshore wind turbines, and thus drive down the cost of delivering clean energy from offshore wind.
Andrew Jamieson, chief executive of ORE Catapult, said: "Having a dedicated offshore wind turbine, accessible from shore, will prove a massive advantage for Scotland and indeed the UK’s offshore wind industry – a real world first. It enables us to extend and enhance both existing and future research programmes, provide an unrivalled testing environment for new technologies and facilitate the development of skills and experience critical to the future development of the industry, and its continuing efforts to reduce costs."
