Episode 2: Supersize Me - Offshore Wind Farms of the Future

This podcast comes from the team at ORE Catapult’s world-leading Test and Validation Centre in Blyth on the Northumberland coast. Bracing themselves for the next-generation of wind turbine blades exceeding more than 100 metres, they discuss just how big wind farms can get offshore and how developers have to balance competing laws of physics and logistics. We ask, just how high and how far out can we go in the search for gigantic wind forces? Host and guest biographies Dr Peter Greaves is Senior Research Structural Engineer at ORE Catapult’s Test and Validation Centre in Blyth. He works on structural simulations of blades and blade testing. His doctoral studies at Durham University were focussed on bi-axial fatigue testing of wind turbine blades. Prior to this, he was Mechanical Design Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Centre. Peter has led a number of ground-breaking industry projects such as XL Blade which aimed to reduce the overall cost of offshore wind by designing, validating and deploying the world’s largest offshore wind turbine. Read more about the work of the Turbine Blade Test Facilities: https://ore.catapult.org.uk/testing-validation/facilities/blades/ Benedict Moore is Marketing Manager at ORE Catapult’s flagship centre in Blyth for advancing wind, wave and tidal energy. He studied Business Management at York St John University before taking his postgraduate degree in Renewable Energy, Enterprise and Management at the University of Newcastle. Working to promote the Catapult’s capabilities in the offshore renewables sector, he is also an active ambassador for the STEM agenda by working with local schools, communities and charities in the North East. Dr Mark Forrest is a world-leading specialist in blade technologies and leads the ORE Catapult Blade Research Team in Blyth. He has worked internationally as a composite Research Scientist and Engineer across a number of organisations including a turbine OEM. Mark’s doctorate was in Materials Engineering following his first degree in Chemistry and Materials Science at Monash University in Australia. Mark is currently leading research into the next generation of large blade structures with the aim of reducing the overall cost of energy, including projects leveraging Additive Manufacturing. About ORE Catapult ORE Catapult was established in 2013 by the UK Government and is part of a network of Catapults set up by Innovate UK in high growth industries. It is the UK’s leading innovation centre for offshore renewable energy. Independent and trusted, with a unique combination of world-leading test and demonstration facilities and engineering and research expertise, ORE Catapult convenes the sector and delivers applied research, accelerating technology development, reducing risk and cost and enhancing UK-wide economic growth. Active throughout the UK, ORE Catapult has operations in Glasgow, Blyth, Levenmouth, Aberdeen, Hull, the South West and Wales and operates a collaborative research partnership in China. ore.catapult.org.uk