The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) has issued a call for expressions of interest in a new innovation competition aiming to develop and enhance black start capabilities for offshore wind turbines.
To demonstrate their commitment, the OWA members, comprising nine offshore wind developers and the Scottish Government, are willing to sponsor developments that meet their specifications.
The competition objective is to identify, qualify and rapidly de-risk innovative, cost-effective, maintenance-friendly, reliable and low carbon solutions that provide black start capabilities for offshore wind.
”Offshore wind farms can play an important role in restarting the electricity grid, helping to replace the diesel generators that are currently required to deliver black start services. With this call, we hope that we find yet another innovative way to help accelerate the development of the offshore wind industry and reduce carbon emissions, while future proofing a grid increasingly made up of renewable sources,” Rory Shanahan, Project Manager – Electrical Systems Research Area, The Carbon Trust, said.
The competition entries will be assessed by an expert panel from the OWA. The Scottish Government and the nine OWA developer partners are providing up to GBP 300,000 to support successful innovative solutions.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 13:30 GMT Friday, 2 March 2018.