SSE Renewables has hosted an offshore wind innovation day in Dundee, Scotland to meet potential providers of solutions it can deploy at its projects.
Adam Blake, offshore wind operational excellence manager at SSE Renewables, said the innovation day has been an “excellent opportunity” for companies to discuss their innovation ideas with the developer’s operations team.
Blake said: “Companies have been able to show us new and exciting innovative solutions to help with our complex business challenges.”
Representatives from Scottish Enterprise, ORE Catapult, Innovate UK (KTN) and the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership were also at the event to speak to companies about the ways in which innovation can support Scotland’s burgeoning offshore wind industry.
Alex Louden from ORE Catapult said: “This event is a great opportunity for us to meet the companies that we want to help rise to the complex business challenges being put forward by SSE.
“It is brilliant to see one of the UK’s biggest renewable energy developers hold an event like this and be so open about the challenges that it faces and the help that it needs to get the UK to net zero emissions.”
Jack Hughleigh, CTO for bolt monitoring company Sedwell, added: “It is great that SSE Renewables is having an event like this where we’ve been able to have one-to-ones with operations staff.
“Especially following the pandemic, it is fantastic to meet face-to-face to discuss how we can respond to complex business challenges.”
The business challenges SSE Renewables considered with the attending companies included remote diagnostics and digital twins, array cable monitoring, smart planning, heavy lifting solutions, remote non-destructive testing and bolt torquing.