By the mid 2030s, the Forth and Tay region will be home to a dramatic expansion of offshore wind development, manufacture, installation, and operation, from the existing one operational wind farm up to potentially another nine wind farms which could equate to 18GW or 36% of the UK’s planned offshore wind fleet.

The Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee have partnered with Forth & Tay Offshore cluster to incorporate the universities’ research strengths in offshore wind engineering into the Forth and Tay region to address challenges in the design and manufacture of fixed and floating wind systems, the development of a workforce and the delivery of large offshore energy infrastructure projects.

This Place Based Impact Accelerator Account (PBIAA) aims to accelerate and grow the impact of academic research into offshore wind in the Forth and Tay area, particularly in the areas of offshore and geotechnical engineering, manufacturing, operations and maintenance as well as the environmental and social aspects of offshore wind. The £2.5m project is looking to work with companies from across the supply chain to help resolve commercial challenges.

On Friday 30th May we are launching the PBIAA project and hosting an event in Edinburgh at Edinburgh Futures Institute building where we hope to be able to explain to organisations of every size, how you can get involved in the project and access academic research into offshore wind.

There will also be an optional opportunity to visit the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility in the afternoon. FloWave is a wave and current simulation tank for use in the testing and development of novel ocean energy technologies. As the first circular combined wave and current facility in the world, FloWave is the best simulation of real-world coastal waters available. It offers both commercial and academic clients the chance to accelerate the testing of their technology and is hence a huge asset to ocean energy research in the age of rapid renewable energy development.

Please register specifically to secure a spot on this tour. There are limited spaces available. Also note, this facility is located on a different campus (King’s Buildings).