The money, whichwill be drawn from the business development bodies’ existing R&D andInnovation coffers, is earmarked for areas including installation, operation and maintenance(IOM) of wind farms, with the focus on improved turbine component quality andreliability; new technologies to streamline installation and access; and novelapproaches to offshore logistics.
Installationof turbines currently accounts for 11% of the cost of producing offshore windenergy, according to Scottish Enterprise figures, while operations andmaintenance is responsible for 19%.
