THE North East’s position as a leading international centre for offshore wind power was yesterday cemented with a £25m investment in new test facilities.
The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) will invest the cash into a new turbine test rig at Blyth’s National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec).
The UK has Europe’s biggest wind resource, but until now, has had no dedicated full turbine test facility.
The indoor rig should be available for commercial testing from June 2013, with preparatory work already under way.
The test rig will be larger and more complex than anything currently available and help manufacturers increase reliability of new turbines, which should see consumers enjoy lower energy bills.
Narec chief executive Andrew Mill said the new test rig would build on the centre’s existing facilities – and critically help attract companies to develop offshore wind turbines to the UK.
“The North East has got a fantastic offering for the offshore market because of the existing activities that we have done, such as shipbuilding. This takes the North East to being one of the premier centres for offshore wind power in the UK and Europe,” said Mr Mill.
