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Written question asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 May 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 May 2019. It was answered by Lord Henley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.


Wind Power

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difficulties associated with the maintenance of wind turbines and associated equipment; and what steps they are taking, if any, to work with the offshore wind energy industry to address such difficulties.

Answer

Operators are responsible for maintaining turbines and associated equipment for their projects.

The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub, a collaboration between Innovate UK and ORE Catapult, has jointly agreed innovation priorities around four areas, one of which is operations & maintenance and windfarm lifecycle. As set out in the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, the sector will look to build on existing work by, for example, exploring the application of robotics and Artificial Intelligence in optimising maintenance and reducing costs.

The renewables share of electricity generation reached 33.3% in 2018 – a record high – with 111TWh generated from renewable sources. Offshore wind generated 26.6TWh which equated to 8% of the UK’s overall annual generation.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL15718
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Repairs and maintenance Seas and oceans Wind power
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk