In an effort to boost the development of the UK’s offshore wind power industry, The Crown Estate has invested in US-based Clipper Windpower by purchasing its prototype for a large-scale offshore wind turbine .
At 7.5 MW, Clipper’ s Britannia turbine will be the largest in the world and will be deployed for testing in northeast England. It has three times the capacity of Clipper’s onshore Liberty turbine, with a 100 m tower and blade diameter of 150 m.
The UK government hopes that offshore wind will play a major role in meeting the country’s renewable energy targets The investment will allow The Crown Estate – which owns almost the entire UK territorial seabed out to 12 nautical miles – to gain experience of the challenges of developing offshore deep water wind turbine technology.
Rob Hastings, director of Marine Estates at The Crown Estate, said: “It is widely recognised that offshore wind energy will provide the majority of the required contribution needed to ensure that the UK meets its demanding renewable energy target to supply 15 per cent of our consumed energy from renewable sources by 2020.
“We believe that our support to the Britannia project through the acquisition of this purposely designed new generation offshore turbine will drive forward the development of turbine technology designed for the challenges of the offshore environment. This is an important step in the future of offshore wind and a great opportunity to help establish a new industrial base of activity to advance the UK’s leadership in renewable energy.”
The turbine will be assembled and tested at Clipper’s Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind in Blyth, northeast England. Its size will help to make offshore wind commercially viable, says Clipper, which has received funding from One Northeast, the Regional Development Agency for the northeast of England.
“This platform enables us to accelerate the development of this vital turbine technology at a time when the urgencies of energy security and global warming are driving the transformation of energy priorities and resource use,” said James Dehlsen, chairman and CEO of Clipper Windpower.
Clipper Windpower is working closely with One NorthEast’s Blyth-based New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC), which will provide the project with engineering and test facilities for blades, generators and drivetrains.