The scheme, which is targeting construction of arrays of up to 15 turbines producing 100MW off the coasts of Britain, will kick off with a nine-month stakeholder engagement phase, with first projects in the frame to be up and running by 2017.
The programme will build on the five testing and demonstration (T&D) developments already on the drawing board: Narec's Blythe Offshore Wind Demonstration (BOWDS) site in northeast England; Aberdeen's European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) and the Energy Park Fife, both in eastern Scotland; WaveHub off southwest Enngland; and Hunterston in southwest Scotland.
