UK and US agree to collaborate on Floating Wind technology

The UK and the US are expected to finalise a deal to provide funding for floating wind technology at an international clean energy summit in London this week.

UK energy secretary Ed Davey is co-chairing the Clean Energy Ministerial, which will be attended by representatives from 23 of the world's largest economies, alongside his US counterpart Steven Chu. He says the floating wind technology will allow the UK to exploit more of its natural wind resources, for a potentially cheaper cost than existing technology.

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) is currently commissioning a £25M offshore floating wind turbine demonstration project. As part of this they have comissioned a study to analyse the feasability of using the Wave Hub as the demonstration site. This study is due to finish in the summer and if it suggests that Wave Hub is a suitable location then this could have a significant impact on South West offshore renewable energy.

The south west region has the potential to greatly benefit from floating wind technologies which access deeper water sites further from shore. As the conclusions of this study are made public they will be available on the Regen SW website.