Are there health and safety challenges related to maintenance and repair of aging
low carbon energy infrastructure, such as offshore wind turbines?

Background

To apply our expert knowledge and capability to enable businesses to understand both known and unknown risk and to innovate safely as we transition to net zero.
To develop our understanding of the future asset base and the role key stakeholders (e.g. designers, manufacturers, operators, etc.) play in managing risk and maintaining safe operations. To work with industry to prevent major incidents around new technologies and applications that come with the government’s commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through working with others to understand changing risks and challenges to ensure regulatory framework remains fit for purpose. We recognise that development of net zero technologies will present challenges that businesses and society are less familiar with. We will work to make sure that health and safety legislation does not prevent safe innovation and progress. To help manage risk, we will focus our attention on the breadth of activities that net zero encompasses. This will provide evidence to inform any policy, regulatory and operational changes needed to support business. We will achieve this by working partnerships with stakeholders, communication activities, regulatory interventions and enforcement. To bring together science, policy, and regulation, we will help businesses in Great Britain establish themselves as world leaders in net zero.

Next steps

Get in touch with hsecsa@hse.gov.uk

Source

This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:

HS Es Areas of Research Interest ARI 2023

Related UKRI funded projects


  • HOME-Offshore: Holistic Operation and Maintenance for Energy from Offshore Wind Farms

    This project will undertake the research necessary for the remote inspection and asset management of offshore wind farms and their connection to shore. This industry has the potential to be worth £2billion annually...

    Funded by: EPSRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Manchester

    Why might this be relevant?

    This project focuses on the remote inspection and asset management of offshore wind farms, which is directly related to the maintenance and repair of aging low carbon energy infrastructure such as offshore wind turbines.

  • Development of a real-time opportunistic maintenance strategy for floating offshore wind turbines

    This project aims to develop a real-time opportunistic maintenance strategy for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs) to support reductions in operation and maintenance costs and unplanned downtime, as well as maximiza...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: Liverpool John Moores University

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project specifically focuses on developing a real-time opportunistic maintenance strategy for floating offshore wind turbines, addressing the health and safety challenges related to maintenance and repair of aging low carbon energy infrastructure.

  • Ventura-OS - an innovative new approach to maintenance of off shore wind turbines

    "Offshore wind in Europe is expected to produce up to 11% of EU's electricity by 2030, BUT due to days lost in maintenance this total is unlikely to be achieved \[Wind Europe Unleashing Europe's offshore wind potent...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: GEV WIND POWER LIMITED

    Why might this be relevant?

    This project addresses the need for improved maintenance of offshore wind turbines, specifically focusing on repairing turbine blades and increasing energy production through leading edge erosion efficiencies.

  • Mathematical tools for improving the understanding of uncertainty in offshore turbine operation and maintenance

    The UK is planning to make massive investments in offshore wind farms which will result in several fleets of similar wind turbines being installed around the UK coastline. The economic case for these wind turbines assume...

    Funded by: EPSRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Strathclyde

    Why might this be relevant?

    This project focuses on improving the understanding of uncertainty in offshore turbine operation and maintenance, but does not directly address the health and safety challenges related to maintenance and repair of aging low carbon energy infrastructure.

  • Development of a FULly InTellIgent Maintenance FrAmework for PrognosTic Health ManagemEnt of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (ULTIMATE)

    This project aims to develop a fully intelligent solutions to the challenges of prognostic health management of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT). The research will develop a Physics Informed Deep Neural Network wit...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: Liverpool John Moores University

  • BladeBUG Leading Edge Repair Tool

    In the last decade, the number of offshore wind turbines in the UK has doubled to over 2,000 active turbines, saving 29 megatonnes of CO2 every year, and producing 10.4GW of power combined. The UK is aiming to raise this...

    Funded by: ISCF

    Lead research organisation: BLADEBUG LIMITED

  • Validation of robotic inspection and maintenance of offshore wind turbine blades

    The UK leads the world in installed offshore wind capacity, and will need to increase from 9GW today to at least 75GW to reach the UK's net zero target by 2050\. This will push wind farms further offshore, entering deepe...

    Funded by: ISCF

    Lead research organisation: BLADEBUG LIMITED

  • Offshore Wind - Blade Access System and working Environment (BASE) Project

    "The Blade Access System and working Environment (BASE) project will contribute to a 0.6% reduction in the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE) from offshore wind by reducing turbine downtime associated with blade mainte...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: SPAN ACCESS SOLUTIONS LTD

  • Revolutionising Operational Safety and Economy for High-value Infrastructure using Population-based SHM (ROSEHIPS)

    Healthy infrastructure is critical in ensuring the continued health of UK society and the economy. Unfortunately, monitoring and maintaining our buildings and transport network is expensive. Considering bridges, inspecti...

    Funded by: EPSRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Sheffield

  • Digital Twins-based integrated corrosion fatigue prognosis of wind turbines Towers in modular energy islands

    Facing the goal of climate neural set by the EU Green Deal, the modular energy island is suggested to utilise the attractive wind power at the deep sea. As a matter of factor, a prominent structural challenge arises, i.e...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: University of Birmingham