AN offshore wind power company have announced Scotland is to host a “revolutionary” renewable energy development costing tens of millions of pounds and believed to be biggest in the UK.
Aker Offshore Wind has announced their plans for Scotland’s first offshore wind underwater substation, which they believe to be by far the UK’s biggest wind energy development.
The subsea innovation is set to be developed, manufactured, and supplied in Scotland next year and is expected to create major export opportunities for Scottish businesses.
The substation comes as a part of a bid to best utilise Scotland’s major offshore windfarms and could provide large economical and environmental benefits.
Substations move energy created by wind turbines to homes and businesses and are traditionally installed above sea level.
However, Aker Offshore Wind believed that moving them to the seabed brings several reliability and cost benefits.
They noted that seawater can be used as a natural cooling system, while reliability is increased through stable temperatures, fewer components and no rotating parts.
It is also expected that operational costs can decrease by less maintenance and reduced material use.
Roughly 80% of the world’s wind resources are in waters deeper than 60 metres and are unsuitable for fixed foundations.
Floating offshore wind is the latest advent in renewable energy technology, allowing green energy to be delivered at scale, in deep waters and many miles off coast.
The price of a land turbine can cost in the range between $2m and $4m, whilst sea turbines price in at a similar cost.
However, floating windmills, which Aker Offshore Wind looks to produce, are noticeably more expensive at $8.9m.
Alongside Ocean Winds, Oker Offshore Wind hopes to deliver a series of floating turbines, which could deliver up to 6,000MW of energy in the outer Moray Firth.
Managing direrctor of Aker Offshore Wind UK, Sian Lloyd-Rees, said: “This is a world-leading innovation that would be developed, manufactured and supplied in Scotland.
“We know the benefit is there – it will revolutionise how energy is produced and present Scotland with the opportunity to export genuinely innovative technology to the rest of the world.
“This technology would be supported by tens of millions of investment and work would start next year.
“It’s a proven technology that we are now using to ramp up the role of renewables in Scotland.
“Our vision is for the UK to become a global leader in floating offshore wind, contributing to our net zero mission with green energy at scale.
“Through innovation, we have the opportunity to implement new technology in the ScotWind leasing round, making Scotland and the UK a global leader in subsea solutions for floating offshore wind and exporting the technology around the world.”
