Renew On Line (UK) 52

6. Deep sea wind

Scottish & Southern Energy and Canadian oil and gas company Talisman Energy have secured funding to develop a £24m deep water demonstration wind project with two turbines 15 miles off the east coast of Scotland, adjacent to the Talisman-operated Beatrice field. SSE and Talisman have agreed to invest up to £7m each in the project, with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Scottish Executive each contributing a further £3m and the EU around £6m.

At present the deepest offshore wind turbines are in depths of around 20 metres. But according to Jim Buckee of Talisman ‘the existing infrastructure at Beatrice offers a unique opportunity to test the feasibility of windfarms in water depths of 35 to 45 metres, while optimizing the value of our existing facilities. We hope to show that it is possible to use offshore oil and gas expertise in the renewable energy business, thereby potentially providing new opportunities for investment and employment in the North Sea.’

The project will test deepwater windfarms that are distant from the shore and have no visual impact. It is part of the pan-European initiative, DOWNVInD (Distant Offshore Windfarms With No Visual Impact In Deepwater), which was created by 14 companies from six countries to promote deepwater windfarm technology. Their target is to reduce costs by at least 20% to make offshore windfarms in deep water economically viable. The five-year period of the demonstrator project could prompt construction of a 1,000 MW offshore windfarm with 200 turbines- equivalent to 20% of Scotland’s current electricity demand.