UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has approved an £85.6 million funding package to give the UK the edge in developing offshore wind technologies.
The funds will be used to expand and upgrade testing facilities at a UKRI research facility in Blyth to speed up new turbine development. The newly upgraded research development facilities will be designed to test turbine blades up to 150 meters long and drive trains up to 23MW.
UKRI notes that these facilities will also have capacity for further expansion up to 180mand 28MW to meet future industry demand. The facilities will also create 30 new jobs in Blyth and support five PhD research projects annually.
Science, Innovation and Research Minister Andrew Griffith said: “Putting pioneering innovation at the heart of the UK’s transition to net zero is the key to protecting our environment in a way which continues to lift living standards.
“Our £86 million funding will create highly skilled and highly paid new jobs that grow the north-east and wider UK economies while pulling investment in by marking our country as a leader on technologies of the future and unashamedly open for business.
“At the same time, it strengthens the UK’s energy security in an uncertain world and helps us pivot towards the cleaner energy that can preserve our planet for generations to come.”
Dr Adam Staines, UKRI infrastructure portfolio director added: “UKRI continues to make the vital infrastructure investments that will underpin innovation and research throughout the UK for the coming decades.
“The project in Blyth demonstrates that investment in the right infrastructure can reduce CO2, support greater energy independence and drive economic benefits that build world-class places to live and work, as well.
“Working across UKRI with Innovate UK’s Catapult Network and the wider supply chain will help achieve these crucial objectives.”
UK is driving offshore wind forward
In recent years, wind power has become an increased focus of renewable energy development in the UK. The UK currently hosts 43% of Europe’s offshore wind capacity, with around 93GW of generation capacity in UK waters.
Meanwhile, Dogger Bank, a wind farm offshore Yorkshire which will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm once fully operational, produced power for the first time in October 2023. Once all three phases of the project are operational, which is expected around 2026, the project will provide the UK with 3.6GW of power.
