At the request of Industrial Member Lockheed Martin, TWI has recently completed a project to deliver offshore wind technology to the Taiwanese government-owned Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center (SOIC). The project enables SOIC to extend its capabilities beyond its remit of providing consultancy services to Taiwanese companies involved in ship design, marine energy, ocean tourism and marine transportation by providing expertise and advice on all aspects of an offshore wind turbine's life cycle, from design to construction, operation and maintenance. This will greatly benefit Taiwan as an island with an abundance of wind but currently without the necessary industry to capitalise on the resource.
Starting with an intensive and extensive basic training programme for over 20 recipients from SOIC and other strategic development partners that included courses in engineering, project management, NDT techniques, failure analysis and asset integrity management, TWI also delivered technical assistance in data procedures, special modelling tool requirements, environmental impact assessment and in the production of an offshore wind farm development technical roadmap.
After the initial training, work continued with an in-depth specialised regime for recipients with appropriate technical backgrounds. This included courses in construction, environmental management, site selection and feasibility, project management, and a look at lessons learned from European offshore wind farms - an area where TWI has extensive experience and expertise. This practical training gave recipients practical experience in using a modelling tools list, best-practice checklists for offshore wind farm development technology and management, and a software checklist. TWI also provided two software packages: WindGiST - Niras software for the energy outcome of wind farms; and RiskWISET - TWI's risk-based maintenance software for optimising plant maintenance.
TWI is completing the technology transfer exercise for SOIC by providing the establishment with Industrial Membership for two years and through the arrangement, in collaboration with Niras, of a marketing seminar in Taiwan to promote SOIC's offshore wind capabilities.
For further information, please contact
Paul Anderson or visit the
Renewables and Energy Storage section of our website.