The Carbon Trust has launched the fourth stage of the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), with all industry partners returning to participate and fund collaborative research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects.
Partners for Stage 4 are EnBW, Equinor, Ørsted, RWE Renewables (including the former renewables business of innogy), ScottishPower Renewables, Shell, SSE Renewables, and Vattenfall.
The OWA has been pioneering industry-led RD&D activity since 2008, having undertaken more than 180 projects internationally. Over this period, cost reductions have led to wide-scale deployment of offshore wind and the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) has fallen. Technology RD&D efforts have played an important role in this achievement, with analysis showing that OWA-supported innovations could deliver a 15% reduction in the LCOE over a project’s lifetime.
The next phase of the OWA aims to continue the cost reduction of offshore wind, overcome market barriers, develop industry best practice, trigger the development of new industry standards and support the international expansion of offshore wind. OWA projects will be focused around the areas of access and logistics, cables, electrical systems, foundations, and energy yield and performance.
