The University is hoping that its new centre will become the leading facility for the development, design and testing of marine renewable construction materials and prototype foundations.
“Scotland is well placed to deliver offshore wind and marine renewables and meet its ambitious targets for 2020 but there are still some significant challenges to be addressed” said Professor Rod Jones, Head of the new Centre. “Although considerable progress has been made in developing and manufacturing turbines, the main challenges now lie in the design, commissioning and deployment of key structural components such as concrete foundations for offshore wind farms.”
Professor Jones added that the University has world-leading expertise in the development of concrete technology and the modelling of novel foundation solutions. The new centre will build on this expertise and be integral to the provision of, demonstration and certification of marine materials and structures.
“These are particularly needed by industry if we are to successfully deploy the systems required to exploit Scotland's natural resources in wind and marine energy” Professor Jones said.
The creation of the new centre was welcomed by Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism who said that the launch of the test centre was a further demonstration of Scotland’s commitment to the development and commercialisation of renewables in the country.
“The test centre in Dundee will complement the internationally recognised facilities provided by Flowave TT located at the University of Edinburgh and, of course, the world leading testing facilities offered at EMEC” Mr Ewing added.
The renewable energy sector has been predicted to create up to 40,000 jobs and £30 billion of investment for the Scottish economy as well as providing the country’s main energy solutions. The £2million Centre is being supported by with £833,000 funding newly announced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which has also provided more than £160,000 to support the Offshore Renewables Institute (ORI), a major partnership between the Universities of Dundee, Aberdeen and Robert Gordon. The ORI has a specific focus on marine policy and planning and the three universities are also part of the Energy Technology Partnership. A new Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Centre has also recently been completed in Glasgow.
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