Siemens Gamesa and Vinci VR have been awarded funding from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to develop virtual reality training simulations for the offshore wind sector on the US east coast.
The partners will collaborate to create low cost virtual reality training to help address a workforce gap in the sector in a safer, faster and inexpensive way.
The training will provide skills and expertise required in the planning, installation and operations of offshore wind projects throughout Massachusetts and beyond.
The $124,670 grant will be used to create the first Global Wind Organizations (GWO) certified virtual reality training tools, starting with two courses – basic technical training-installation and slinger signaler.
Vinci and Siemens Gamesa plan to later expand development of virtual reality simulations to additional GWO modules.
The virtual reality integrations for the initial two courses will be developed, audited and tested by July 2021.
Vinci chief executive Eagle Wu said: “Offshore wind power is an important part of the clean energy future for not only Massachusetts, but the US as a whole.
“It will play an important role in a greener future; however, to pull this off, there are pieces of the puzzle that America needs to figure out, such as having a qualified and large workforce.
“Our VR tools can ensure that the US meets its workforce training needs effectively and safely.”
Siemens Gamesa head of offshore North America Steve Dayney said: “The US offshore wind industry is growing and shows a lot of promise.
“We have already secured over 4GW of conditional offshore wind turbine orders in the US and with this partnership, we hope to help close the workforce training gap in a safe, expedited and cost-efficient manner, all while increasing probability of US based green energy jobs.
“We are excited to partner with Vinci VR on this innovative training series.”