The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), a collaboration between nine offshore wind developers, is launching 16 new research and development (R&D) projects this year. These span five key areas of logistics and operations and maintenance, cables, electrical systems, foundations, yield and performance.
One upcoming project will conduct research looking at the impact of climate change on offshore wind resource. Research has already been conducted into the impact of climate change on global wind patterns, but this new project will enable windfarm owners to have a better understanding of the future impacts on local wind resource.
Another will look at ways of reducing the emissions associated with installation and operations of offshore wind farms. While the turbines produce renewable energy, many of the vessels servicing the offshore farms are powered by fossil fuels.
Hybrid electric vessels, and even full emission-free vessels, are becoming more common, but the charging infrastructure is not widely available for offshore farms. The OWA is developing a new industry standard for charging vessels offshore and will extend this work to accelerate deployment of charging infrastructure within ports.
Tenders for project will be available to apply for this month through the Carbon Trust’s website.