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Durham scientists taking lead in £2.55 million research into wind energy for future
(25 May 2006)
Engineers at Durham University are leading members of an expert team in a new £2.55 million project to investigate how to improve the cost-effectiveness of large scale wind turbine systems in the UK. Funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), this project is part of the fifth phase of the £40 million Supergen Sustainable Power Generation Programme which is using world-leading experts to research the future of electrical power generation.
Known as the Wind Energy Technologies Consortium, the Durham-led group will use the funds for a four-year project researching ways to improve the reliability and availability of wind energy, reduce the cost of energy production and facilitate the siting of turbines in off-shore locations. Principal Investigator, Professor Peter Tavner of Durham University’s School of Engineering said: “While many are familiar with the idea of wind power it still contributes a relatively small amount to UK’s overall energy needs, partly because it can be difficult to agree sites for wind turbines on land. The offshore wind resource is much larger but the costs of building and maintaining off-shore wind turbines are currently seen as high. Over the next four years we are going to look at engineering solutions that could create large-scale wind turbine systems that are both cost-effective and reliable and could generate a significant proportion of the UK’s energy needs. With many countries waking up to the urgency of finding alternative sources of energy to the world’s dwindling oil and gas resources this project couldn’t have been more timely. “ The Wind Energy Technologies Consortium, led by Durham and Strathclyde Universities is an interdisciplinary collaboration between nine university research groups and ten industrial bodies with expertise in wind turbine technology, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, materials, electrical machinery and control, reliability and condition monitoring. The consortium has the active support of ten industrial partners, including wind farm operators, manufacturers and consultants. Professor Tavner’s work is the second EPSRC Supergen project active at Durham University with Dr Durose in the Department of Physics as the Prinicipal Investigator for “Photovoltaic Materials for the 21st Century – PV-21”, part of Supergen III with a grant of £3 million. The project is investigating the power of solar cells, it started in 2004 and is due to finish in 2008.
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