The University of Sheffield (www.sheffield.ac.uk) is to lead a £7.6 million research project to improve the UK’s offshore wind-power technologies, as part of a £138 million investment in research partnerships aimed at strengthening links between the country’s research base and industry.

The project will involve the universities of Sheffield, Durham and Hull, partnering with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and DONG Energy on a five-year programme to solve problems and reduce the costs of offshore wind power.

It aims to lay the foundation for the next generation of wind turbines and wind farms with a significantly higher level of power generation, helping to meet clean-energy challenges.

Professor Zi-Qiang Zhu, from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: “The project will address the challenges of both the current and future generations of wind-turbine technology
in such a way that critical issues regarding availability and reliability will be explored and solved.

“Being both industry-led and academically driven, the research will be both genuinely innovative and focused on delivering business value.”

Professor Mike Hounslow, vice-president and head of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: “The UK’s installed capacity is more than the rest of the world’s combined and is forecast to grow rapidly.

“However, we need to substantially reduce the electricity cost, if we are to achieve the target growth required. Two of the main challenges for cost reduction are increases in turbine size, and smarter operation and maintenance.

“These align strongly with the strategic research strengths of the University of Sheffield.”