What We Do
We are working to deliver a fully-integrated, life-cycle design of an offshore wind farm capable of delivering electricity to the grid at a target cost of £100/MWh. We create value through the development of innovative products and systems which facilitate cost reduction in offshore wind.
Why
The cost of energy from offshore wind is today unsustainable, with costs approaching £200/MWh and in some cases beyond. Upcoming developments in far-shore and/or technically challenging environments will only result in higher costs, despite higher wind yields and potential improvements to project delivery.
Unless there is fundamental change in the approach to the deployment of offshore wind, a reduced cost of energy approaching £100/MWh will be difficult to achieve.
How
To date, cost reduction initiatives have tended to be conducted in a fragmented and isolated manner. We believe that only with a fully integrated approach to the design of the entire wind farm, from manufacture and installation to maintenance and decommissioning can a step-change in savings be achieved.
We think that by using innovative thinkers and world leading designers who understand the challenges of operating in the marine environment, a target cost of energy of £100/MWh is achievable, providing a holistic approach to design is employed.
We are currently engaged in three, complementary design engineering work-streams: i) foundations, ii) turbine systems and iii) inter-array cabling. We plan to have preliminary designs in place by mid-2012.