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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT


FEATURE SPONSOR


CATAPULT AND NAREC JOIN FORCES


The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and the National Renewable Energy Centre recently announced that they are merging to form a national champion for the development and cost reduction of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy across the UK.


A PERFECT COMBINATION


The move will see the world-class research, development, demonstration and testing facilities of Narec combined with the leadership, industrial reach and engineering expertise of ORE Catapult.


It will accelerate the design, deployment and commercialisation of renewable energy technology innovation, helping to attract overseas investment and to realise the enormous opportunity presented by the UK’s offshore renewable energy resources.


RETURN ON INVESTMENT Andrew Jamieson, Chief Executive of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, will lead the combined organisation. Commenting on the merger, he said: “Narec and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult will together create a world- leading innovation and asset assurance business, serving the entire offshore renewable sector returning value on Government investment many times over.


“We will play a leading role in ensuring the UK replicates the success of the oil and gas industries, creating many thousands of skilled jobs, contributing billions of pounds to the economy and ensuring that the UK has a major influence on European policy, funding and offshore renewable energy development in the decades to come.”


INTEGRATION


Andrew Mill, who steps down as Narec Chief Executive and will join the board of ORE Catapult as a Non-Executive Director, said: “Integrating Narec’s world-class facilities and expertise with the ORE Catapult will create a unique and growing organisation, ensuring that regionally and nationally the UK is in the best possible position to capture the huge opportunity presented by wind, wave and tidal energy.”


POWERFUL SECTOR CHAMPION Iain Gray, Technology Strategy Board Chief Executive, said: “Combining Narec’s outstanding research, testing and development facilities with the Catapult’s leadership and expertise will create a single, powerful champion for the development of the UK’s offshore renewable energy industries.


“The Technology Strategy Board is committed to long term investment to promote technology innovation, drive down the cost of renewable energy and realise the enormous economic potential of the UK’s offshore wind, wave and tidal resources.”


100M BLADE TEST FACILITY AWARDED UKAS ACCREDITATION Narec’s 100m blade test facility has recently been awarded accreditation by UKAS for structural testing of wind turbine blades; complementing the existing accreditation for blades up to 50m in length as well its ASTA/ Intertek and UKAS accredited electrical and materials laboratories.


The 100m facility, which opened in 2012 to accommodate larger blades for the next generation of offshore wind turbines required for round three sites and beyond, undertakes dynamic and static tests in accordance with IEC and ISO17025 standards.


TESTING


Various tests are undertaken, such as, the determination of natural frequencies, modal analysis, post-fatigue and collapse assessments helping to ensure the desired level of reliability and prove manufacturing processes prior to installation and operation.


CERTIFICATION


Peter Hope, Blade Test Facility Manager, commented, “This is excellent news for Narec, and combined with our track record, independence and quality systems provides our clients with robust assurance that our certification work is carried out to the required standard.”


ORE CATAPULT AND NAREC MERGER ADVICE


Leading UK law firm, Shepherd and Wedderburn recently advised the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult on its merger with Narec to form a national champion for the development and cost reduction of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy across the UK.


A large multi-disciplinary team from across Shepherd and Wedderburn, led by renewables Partner Liz McRobb worked closely with ORE Catapult and Narec to complete the merger within a very short timeframe. Commenting on the merger, Liz said; “We are delighted to have advised on the merger. Bringing these two organisations together will strengthen the UK’s capability and enable significant development in the sector.”


SUPPORT


David Currie, Business Services Director at ORE Catapult said; “The team at Catapult are thankful for the excellent support, advice and input from Shepherd and Wedderburn during the merger. This has been a challenging process and we were reliant on their first class support. Having worked with the firm previously, we have come to expect this level of professional and technical excellence.”


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