£480,000 to help university track winds of change

Tuesday 31 July 2012

£480,000 to help university track winds of change

RESEARCHERS at Strathclyde University have been given £480,000 to help improve the performance of offshore wind farms.

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By LALITA AUGUSTINE

It is hoped the money, which has been awarded by Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government's business agency, will help the country meet renewable energy targets.

The cash will help pay for a new experimental rig facility to test offshore wind condition monitoring technologies.

It will be based at the university's £2.6million Centre For Advanced Condition Monitoring in Glasgow and will initially focus on technology that detects how the windfarm gearboxes are being affected by extreme winds.

Professor Scott MacGregor, dean of the university's Faculty Of Engineering, said: "The centre is geared to play an important role in helping to meet renewable energy targets for Scotland.

"This investment from Scottish Enterprise is a fantastic boost for the centre and will allow researchers at Strathclyde to lead the way, collaborating with industry to enhance Scotland's reputation as world leader in renewable energy."

Estimates suggest that by 2050 offshore wind could be worth £65billion to the UK and could support thousands of jobs.

The centre's test facility will also become part of the university's new £89million Technology And Innovation Centre – a research centre bringing together academics and industrialists in the heart of Glasgow.

lalita.augustine@ eveningtimes.co.uk

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