The Scottish oil sector was today urged to capitalise on a £210billion renewables boom.
The figure, which was calculated by the shore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, totals the expected renewables spend in the next decade.
ORE Catapult today launched a series of innovation challenges in a bid to kick-start crossover.
Andrew Tipping, commercialisation manager at ORE Catapult, said: “Aberdeen, and the UK as a whole, has extensive experience in oil and gas and the skills base, both in exploration and drilling, could be invaluable to the growth and development of offshore renewables. The value of this should not be underestimated, particularly at a time when the oil and gas sector continues to contend with lower oil prices and a need to reduce operating costs.
“Diversifying into renewables provides greater resilience for companies at the same time as providing an opportunity to take an early lead in what will be a huge global industry.
“It’s an unmissable opportunity.”
He added: “The aim of these challenges is two-fold, to bring down the overall cost of offshore renewable technology, and to drive growth for UK companies.
“Many of the challenges we’re presenting today are not unique to offshore renewables. Similar issues will be faced by oil and gas companies and related subsea sectors. We’ve teamed up with NSRI to highlight these opportunities and make sure that companies grasp them as quickly as possible and steal a march on our global competitors.
“The emergence of offshore renewables could be Britain’s new oil boom – the potential is absolutely huge.”
The challenges are spread across six themes – blades, electrical infrastructure, foundations, operations and maintenance, powertrain innovation and wave and tidal, and were identified by ORE Catapult in partnership with industry and academia.
W3G Marine recently made an industry shift in the development of its drone-based erosion inspection technology concept for offshore wind farms. The technology is aimed at reducing costs.
“W3G Marine Ltd are developing a drone deployed inspection tool for offshore wind turbine blade damage, and have been working with ORE Catapult during the design stage of the project. The Catapult has been an invaluable help, and the process has opened up opportunities for us to diversify our product offering and explore new markets,” said John Giles, Director of W3G Marine Ltd.
