Our Group CEO David Currie was in attendance yesterday at the official launch of the £9mn National Floating Wind Innovation Centre in Aberdeen. The Centre has been driven and developed by Energy Transition Zone (ETZ Ltd) and ORE Catapult.

David sits on the Board of Directors of ETZ.

The primary aim of the Centre, which represents a world first, is to support north-east Scotland becoming a global leader in offshore floating wind. A statement released by ORE Catapult highlighted the strong “synergies” between offshore wind and subsea technologies and expertise, as “75% of the world’s subsea engineering capability is based in the region.”

The initial focus will be digital simulation and modelling, moving on to the testing and validation of the key components of floating structures, including moorings and anchors, dynamic cables and electrical systems.

Speaking after the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon formally opened the Centre, David Currie commented:

“The new National Floating Wind Innovation Centre marks a key step along the road towards preparing and supporting our region, with its excellent subsea heritage and know-how, for the transition and pivot to a future where offshore wind, both fixed and floating, will play an increasingly major role in energy generation.

“At Proserv, we recognise this changing landscape and we are already harnessing our capabilities to build exciting and disruptive new technologies to enhance the performance and productivity of offshore wind farms.”

David Currie also observed that among its varied objectives, the new initiative intends to strengthen O&M practices with the goal of alleviating “premature failure and reducing unplanned maintenance”.

Just last month, Proserv announced that its new holistic cable monitoring system ECG™ had been selected by DEME Offshore to provide the entire inter-array cabling monitoring of phases A and B of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is set to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world.