Scotland invests £1.5 MM for offshore wind R&D

The Scottish Government has announced that it has invested a further £1.5 million (US$1.95 million) in the Carbon Trust’s world-leading collaborative research, development and demonstration (RD&D) programme – the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA).

The OWA brings new technologies to market faster, which are critical for a healthy and sustainable industry, as well as creating new industry standards and best practice. The innovations supported through the OWA will ultimately help to reduce the cost of offshore wind and ensure the full potential of offshore wind energy is realised.

The programme brings together nine of the largest offshore wind developers in Europe; DONG Energy, EnBW, E.ON, Iberdrola, innogy, SSE, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall.

Paul Wheelhouse, Energy Minister, said:

The Scottish Government’s decision to invest a further £1.5 million into the OWA is a ringing endorsement of the great potential of this programme to help Scotland to utilise the full potential of offshore wind, and to ensure that we make it as affordable as possible. The Carbon Trust have done a fantastic job so far in reducing the costs of offshore wind, as well as encouraging collaboration across the public and private sectors to improve the industry as a whole. The potential benefits of offshore wind energy in Scotland are enormous, which is why the Scottish Government is committed to its development. By continuing to invest in it, not only are we stimulating economic change for the better, but we’re also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland and helping to fight the impacts of climate change.

Jan Matthiesen, Director, Carbon Trust, said: 

The Scottish Government’s £1.5 million investment into the programme, alongside nine of the biggest developers in Europe, shows there is real confidence in the ability of the OWA to continue to deliver cost reductions. This continuing support and investment into the programme has helped to reduce the costs of offshore wind and helped to pave the way towards a subsidy free energy source.

In July 2016, the Carbon Trust revealed details of its new European phase of its OWA. This was enhanced by an initial £1.5 million of funding from the Scottish Government for the first year. Today’s announcement markets a renewed investment for a second year to continue to support further the progress of offshore wind energy in Scotland.

Over the past 9 years, the OWA programme has delivered nearly 150 projects, ranging from feasibility studies to multi-million pound, full-scale technology demonstrations.