Samsung And Scotland Join To Build Offshore Wind Turbine Prototype
Non-departmental public body Scottish Enterprise have awarded Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) £6.04 million in funding to support the development of a 7 MW offshore wind turbine prototype at Scotland’s Fife Energy Park, the country’s leading manufacturing and research zone for the renewable energy sector.
Image Credit: Fife Energy Park
Scottish Enterprise’s financial input backs the existing £100 million that SHI has already invested into it’s Scottish projects, which will help launch a test demonstration project in the near term, but looking forward will hopefully result in a large turbine manufacturing facility.
“Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in establishing a globally competitive supply chain for the offshore wind industry,” said Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable growth John Swinney.
“This development will utilise newly developed technologies which have not yet been deployed offshore – further confirming Scotland’s commitment to innovation in the offshore wind production sector.”
SHI has already invested heavily in the Scottish renewable energy sector on the road to the creation of their offshore wind turbine prototype, a project that will begin construction later this year approximately 35 metres from the shore at Fife Energy Park.
Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution!
“This announcement is a major step forward in our plans to develop our latest offshore wind technology in Scotland and is a real testament to the Scottish Government’s support of the Offshore Wind Energy Industry,” Chan Hee Son, UK Project Manager of Samsung Heavy Industries said.
“Samsung Heavy Industries’ plans along with that of other key international players in the sector, are testament to Scotland’s growing reputation as a leading global location for the next generation of offshore wind energy,” Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise said. “The success of companies in Scotland in securing business from Samsung shows we’re building a strong supply chain – which is critical.”
The funding comes underneath the POWERS heading — Prototyping for Offshore Wind Energy Renewables Scotland (POWERS) — and “offers funding to support the capital costs associated with the full scale production of next generation wind turbine prototypes in Scotland.”
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
