Giant winged turbine gets big business backing

The first four projects of a potential £1.1 billion initiative to bring the latest clean technologies to market in time to meet binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK were unveiled this week by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

The UK has set a target to reduce its emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 and aims to get 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The initial projects are being financed to the tune of £20 million and will help deliver either offshore wind or marine energy in what is being described as a “new energy network for the UK”.

Two key objectives of those funding and developing the projects are to get them rolled out commercially as quickly as possible and affordably. According to the ETI, these and future projects have the potential to deliver cheaper renewable electricity from 2020 onwards.

“The projects being announced will demonstrate new technologies which can deliver significant cost savings compared to current renewable energy sources,” said Dr David Clarke, chief executive officer of the ETI. “Through the skills, capabilities and market access of our members, we have the potential to deploy new technologies on a mass scale.”

The funding for the projects comes from private sector partners BP, Caterpillar, EDF Energy, E.ON, Rolls Royce and Shell and the ETI, a 50:50 public/private body that also receives funding from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Transport. The ETI, which was formed in 2006, is made up of an academic consortium comprising Birmingham, Loughborough and Nottingham Universities.

“The Government has put record investment into science, including our funding for the ETI. Their work is crucial to achieving a green revolution in Britain and we'll be supporting those growth industries and next-generation technologies where we can have a clear global impact,” said Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson.

As well as big business and academia, though, the ETI projects claim to be championing small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and longer-term expects to benefit the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Called Project Nova, the vertical winged turbine study is at the feasibility stage and will be tested against its claims of stability and simpler maintenance access compared to conventional wind turbines. Those behind the project include SME Wind Power, energy specialists OTM Consulting and QuinetiQ.

A second study, Project Helm Wind, backed by a consortium led by E.ON Engineering and including representatives from Rolls-Royce, BP Alternative Energy and the University of Strathclyde, aims to deliver a concept design and feasibility study for a new offshore wind farm that will overcome issues around turbine reliability and accessing equipment for maintenance.

Another project, dubbed ReDAPT, will install and test a one megawatt tidal turbine in Orkney with funding and knowledge coming from Rolls-Royce, Tidal Generation Limited, Garrad Hassan, the University of Edinburgh, EDF Energy, E.ON, Plymouth Marine Laboratories and the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

The fourth study, Project Deepwater Turbine, is led by Blue H Technologies with representatives from BAE Systems and EDF Energy, among others, and will test the feasibility of a five-megawatt floating offshore wind turbine for deep-water use.

Nick Winser, National Grid's executive director for Transmission and co-chair of the UK Energy Research Partnership, said the innovations were critical to the UK meeting its target for reducing CO2 emissions and delivering affordable energy to customers.

“The first ETI projects are a key part of the development of a new energy network for the UK,” he said. “Our major investment programme in the UK electricity network, around £850 million this year alone, is a key part of enabling these projects to be rapidly rolled out as commercial generators following their initial developments.”

While offshore wind and marine technologies are the focus of the first round of projects to be funded, the ETI said it was also addressing transport, distributed energy, carbon capture and storage and energy networks.

It said the next set of offshore wind and marine projects to be funded would be announced soon.