Forthwind to test UK’s first two-bladed offshore wind turbines

The UK’s Crown Estate and 2-B Energy’s subsidiary Forthwind have signed a lease agreement with for the nation’s first offshore two-bladed turbines demonstration on the seabed at Methil in Scotland.

The demonstration includes installation of two 6MW full scale units at Methil.

The 6MW two-bladed turbine, designed for offshore wind industry, is considered to be the first in the world of its kind.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) granted support, along with investment from the Scottish Investment Bank, to 2-B Energy earlier for the development of full-scale onshore prototype in the Netherlands.

The two offshore machines will be deployed in Methil in 2016 following approvals.

The Crown Estate Offshore Wind head Huub den Rooijen said: "In order to fully unlock the potential of offshore wind over the long term, it is vital that opportunities are made available to test and demonstrate innovative and emerging technology platforms to bring down costs and secure the UK’s position as a global leader in offshore wind technology."

Apart from two-bladed turbine design, the company is considering to reduce costs by integrating wind turbine technology with grid and access systems innovations, the installation process and a new operational strategy.

2-B Energy chief operating officer Mikael Jakobsson said: "We hope that through this offshore development and demonstration step, and following the completion of our first on-shore demonstrator in early 2015, to be able to validate significant cost reductions in future offshore wind deployment."

Image: Illustration of two-bladed turbine offshore UK. Photo: © The Crown Estate 2014.