The £640,250 from the UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change will enable OGN to develop its sister company Aquind’s Triton foundation structure, which has been designed for water over 30 metres deep.
Aquind has already designed the developed technology, which will be suitable for large capacity turbines of 5MW or more in size, but the grant will enable it to develop a prototype later this year.
Thereafter, commercial manufacturing of the structures will take place at OGN’s yard in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, and could run at 150 units a year, the company said.
OGN chief technical officer Graham Kennedy said: "Our Triton design and technology has the potential to reduce the costs of offshore wind foundations by at least 25%, making wind energy a viable renewable energy source for the UK."
Up to 70% of the development opportunities under the UK’s Round 3 offshore projects are in waters of 30 metres depth or more.
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