The Crown Estate has announced  that it will work with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult on programmes aimed at increasing the momentum of driving down costs of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy.

A three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed between the two organisations has specifically identified five initial areas for collaboration:

• Identification of the enabling technologies to deliver affordable offshore renewable energy.
• A framework for collection of performance and reliability data from offshore wind turbines.
• A framework for establishing best practise in offshore transmission issues.
• A reliability certification system for offshore wind turbines.
• Leadership and steering to the Deep Water Foundations Working Group.

In addition, The Crown Estate and ORE Catapult will also be working in close collaboration with the wider offshore renewables industry to deliver uniform standards and overall performance improvement from offshore wind, wave and tidal energy generation.

Martin Simpson, Head of New Energy and Technology at the Crown Estate, said:

"As managers of the seabed out to 12 nautical miles and the rights holder for the Renewable Energy Zone, we are committed to playing a key role in facilitating the development of the offshore wind, wave and tidal stream energy industries in the UK. We are pleased to enter into this MOU which will see us work closely with the ORE catapult to facilitate collaboration across the entire industry to drive down the cost of generating electricity from renewable technologies offshore."

Detailed programme plans will now be developed by the two organisations in each of the five areas outlined above, working with utilities, manufacturers, operators, supply chain and smaller, innovative companies to deliver the economic, industrial, social and environmental potential of offshore renewable energy.