West of Orkney and EMEC sign offshore wind R&I initiative

The West of Orkney Windfarm has signed a ground-breaking agreement with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), based in Orkney, to kick-start a major offshore wind research and innovation programme.

Rights to develop the 2-gigawatt West of Orkney Windfarm were secured in January by a joint venture consisting of Corio Generation, TotalEnergies and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG). The project will be located 30 km off the west coast of Orkney and aims to start producing renewable power by 2030.

EMEC has been at the forefront of marine renewable energy innovation for almost 20 years, covering a range of technologies from wave and tidal energy to green hydrogen and subsea data centres.

Building upon its core strengths in technical and environmental research programme delivery, this partnership will be the first with a large-scale, commercial offshore wind farm.

EMEC will review the offshore wind R&I landscape, mapping this against the needs of the project and capabilities across the region. This will inform the development of a long-term project-specific R&I programme which EMEC will deliver in collaboration with a range of stakeholders including the local supply chain.  

Read the press release on the West of Orkney Windfarm website