A trio of Scottish renewable energy innovators are to test sensor technologies that could be deployed on offshore wind farms around the UK at the Levenmouth offshore wind demonstration turbine in Fife.
Supported by £220,000 Scot-Govt. funding, the programme enables those pioneering companies to develop solutions to support growth in the offshore wind, wave and tidal sectors – and bolster the British wind-ustry supply chain.
Turner Iceni, Sensor-works and Hydrasun are among the successful companies that responded to an ORE Catapult competition to develop their sensor technologies for offshore wind in real-world test conditions.
Glasgow-based Turner Iceni and Livingston-based start-up Sensor Works have joined forces to validate their technology on the turbine, using a combination of low-energy Bluetooth sensors and sophisticated algorithms to predict and prevent equipment failures.
Hydrasun, meanwhile, is aiming to validate its globally patented intelligent condition monitoring system, developed for the oil and gas sector, for use on wind turbines as it aims to build its renewables’ portfolio.
David Hatfield, general manager, Turner Iceni, said: “Accessing a working offshore wind turbine to help validate or develop new technology isn’t a simple task – and that can be a costly barrier to innovation. We are grateful for the potential game-changer opportunity this project provides.
Peter Macdonald, Head of Engineering at the Glasgow-based ORE Catapult, said: “These three companies have developed technology that could be game changing for the offshore renewables sector, allowing operators to remotely monitor wind turbines that are far offshore and potentially saving significant costs and downtime.”
Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse, MSP, commented: “Given it now looks likely that 2017 will be a record year for renewable electricity generation for Scotland, it’s great to see the Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine helping to further reduce offshore wind development costs by providing unique facilities for Scottish SMEs to test and prove cutting edge technologies.”
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