The Grant will contribute towards costs associated with the development of blades for the “Britannia Project”, a 10 MW offshore wind turbine prototype being developed by Clipper and scheduled for deployment in late 2011. Clipper’s 10 MW wind turbine is among the world’s largest under development.
“With the deployment of the 10 MW Clipper offshore turbine in UK waters, the nation will benefit from clean power, and also from the strong economic boost arising from the development and serial production of the turbines in the coming years. DECC’s leadership in initiating and expediting the grant program is timely and will help to accelerate our planning for and delivery of the Britannia project. We are appreciative of the support and look forward to the opportunity to continue to work closely with the DECC,” said James G.P. Dehlsen, Chairman of Clipper Windpower.
The Grant for the Britannia turbine has been issued by DECC to stimulate the development and demonstration of offshore wind technologies and components for larger multi-megawatt turbines to enable their faster deployment as a key element of meeting part of the UK Government’s targets for renewable energy generation required by 2020.
Clipper plans to utilise fully the emerging UK supply chain opportunities in developing the manufacturing process for the new 10 MW turbine. The Britannia Project blade development is anticipated to take place at a new 4,000 square-metre facility which Clipper expects to occupy on the River Tyne in the North East of England.
Once constructed, each blade will be more than 70 metres long and weigh over 30 tonnes, while a fully operational Clipper 10 MW turbine will stand at 175 metres in height and, over its lifetime, is expected to displace the use of two million barrels of oil and offset the need to dispel 724,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. Upon serial production, the 10 MW turbines will be deployed initially in European waters.
As previously announced in April 2008, The Crown Estate has agreed to purchase the Britannia prototype. This investment will allow The Crown Estate to gain firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing the development of wind turbines specialised for deep water marine deployment as the process of engaging industry to develop the next phase of offshore wind farms begins.
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband said “Our coastline means the offshore wind industry has the potential to employ tens of thousands of workers by 2020, manufacturing, transporting, installing and operating the new turbines. It will take an active government to get us there and the funds are part of the £120 million investment we are making this year and next in the wind industry to make that happen.”
The Crown Estate is currently in the process of awarding a further 25 GW of offshore wind zones which are likely to enter construction during 2016.
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