Floating wind farms could become a feature on the Westcountry horizon if tests of a multi-million pound offshore prototype prove successful.
While often-controversial onshore turbines have become part of the landscape in Devon and Cornwall, the seas have remained untouched with many offshore developments taking place in the shallower waters off the east coast.
But the economic barriers to installing turbines in the deeper waters off the Westcountry coast could be resolved by trials of a new floating turbine, which are due to be held at the Wave Hub energy test facility off the West Cornwall coast.
The Energy Technologies Institute – a public-private partnership between global industries and the Government – yesterday confirmed Wave Hub as the preferred location for a floating, six megawatt turbine which could be in place as early as 2015.
Johnny Gowdy, director at renewable energy specialists Regen SW, said the tests could put the Westcountry at the "vanguard" of a new industry.
"Floating wind turbines are something that had really come up quite fast," Mr Gowdy said.
"It is potentially a short-term solution to developing in deeper water offshore sites.
"For the South West, floating wind technology, with wave and tidal is something we could specialise in because we have both a great wind resource as well as deeper water."
The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), which includes BP, EDF, Rolls-Royce and Shell, confirmed US-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten Associates as the designers for the multi-million pound floating wind demonstrator.
It will develop the platform prototype in partnership with offshore wind turbine manufacturers Alstom. The test turbine off the Cornish coast would remain in place for between eight and ten years.
The project will help determine whether floating wind farms could play a cost-effective role in helping to meet the UK's energy needs.
Wave Hub general manager Claire Gibson said: "We are delighted the ETI has selected Wave Hub as its preferred site for this innovative floating wind project. We very much look forward to working with their partners, Glosten Associates and Alstom, to enable this project to be installed at the site by 2015.
"With support from the ETI preparatory work is already under way. A geophysical survey of the Wave Hub site has recently been completed to inform a more detailed geotechnical investigation in the summer, and we are analysing the available data for the Wave Hub site to inform the design of the floating wind platform.
"Our current work to upgrade the onshore substation, part of our strategy to future-proof Wave Hub for deployments of larger wave energy arrays within the existing consented site, will also enable us to accommodate the six megawatt prototype in a single berth."
The turbine would be anchored to the seabed using technology which is already widely used in the oil and gas industry. The Westcountry is already home to several specialists in the field.
The ETI is funding a Front End Engineering Design Study (FEED) which will take about 12 months to complete and cost £4 million.
During that time the Wave Hub team, which has been praised for securing the project ahead of competition from Scotland, will need to apply for the consents to enable offshore wind to be deployed.
The ETI will then decide whether to invest up to £21 million to deploy the prototype which would occupy one of Wave Hub's four berths.
