Wind Energy – R&I Program
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), based in Orkney, has signed a groundbreaking agreement with the West of Orkney Windfarm to kick-start a major research and innovation (R&I) program.
The main task is increasing the competitiveness of the windfarm and enhancing R&I capacity in the north of Scotland.
Rights to develop the 2-gigawatt West of Orkney Windfarm were secured in January by a joint venture consisting of Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG). The project will be located 30 km off the west coast of Orkney and aims to start producing renewable power by 2030.
EMEC has been at the forefront of marine renewable energy innovation for almost 20 years, demonstrating a range of technologies from wave and tidal energy to green hydrogen and subsea data centres. Building upon its core strengths in technical research programme delivery, this partnership will be the first with a large-scale, commercial offshore wind farm and will support further diversification of the organisation.
EMEC will review the offshore wind R&I landscape, mapping this against the needs of the project and capabilities across the region. This will inform the development of a long-term project-specific R&I programme which EMEC will deliver in collaboration with a range of stakeholders including the local supply chain.
