Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Ocean Winds and Aker Offshore Wind have unveiled a 10-point plan to create a skilled workforce and manufacturing opportunities through the supply chain in Scotland.
They plan to establish a manufacturing center in the country for the fabrication and assembly of giant steel floating structures for installation in deepwaters in the North Sea.
Both companies are the majority owners of Principle Power Inc., which has developed the WindFloat steel-based floating platform. These are currently deployed in two projects with a total capacity of 75 MW, using what are said to be the largest wind turbines in operation to date on floating platforms.
Currently Ocean Winds and Aker Offshore Wind are working with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the University of Strathclyde to develop a 3D immersive visualization of the yard where the platforms and turbines would be built.
The design will be promoted across the world to identify suitable manufacturers, with fabricators interested in setting up facilities in Scotland invited to join the early discussions.
The project should be ready for the implementation of the ‘ScotWind’ leasing program. Ocean Winds and Aker Offshore Wind claim their joint ScotWind bids could generate investment of up to £15 billion ($20.7 billion) if they are awarded up to three sites delivering a total of 6 GW of floating offshore wind energy.
Edinburgh-based Ocean Winds UK is the developer of Scotland’s 950-MW Moray East wind farm, which started operating earlier this year.
10/29/2021
