Narec Buoyed by Government's Continued Commitment to Offshore Wind, Wave and Tidal Technology Development

16 July 2009

Narec has welcomed today's announcement from Government under the Low Carbon Transition Plan, which includes a £10 million investment to further develop wave & tidal test facilities at Blyth, Northumberland. The Centre looks forward to continued mutually beneficial relationships with Scotland's EMEC facility; the South West's Wave Hub; and lead UK academic institutions in helping to build a world beating offshore renewables industry in the UK.

In addition, having already established the UK's only dedicated test centre for large scale offshore wind devices, NaREC eagerly awaits further details from Government on the outlined £120 million to support the expansion of national facilities that will accelerate the deployment of next generation offshore wind technology in the UK.

If the UK is to continue to exploit its full offshore renewables resource and meet the challenging targets set for 2020, long term support for research and development infrastructure to further the commercialisation of new technologies is vital.

Building on Narec's existing test infrastructure, which is currently serving the global offshore marine and wind industries will significantly enhance the UK's competitive offer as the place to invest in manufacturing for the longer term.