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THE UK government is spending £18.5m ($28m) to develop an offshore wind test site off the coast of Northumberland, in northeast England.

The money will help the New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) build facilities for firms to test prototype turbines and blades.

Narec ceo Andrew Mill says: “[This money] will enable Narec to progress with our plans to deliver a 100 MW grid connected offshore demonstration platform with the capacity to accommodate up to 20 large-scale prototypes.”

“The facility will be unique in global R&D terms, enabling manufacturers and wind farm developers to identify best practice approaches across the supply chain for the development, deployment, operation and management of new turbine technologies.”

He adds that the new facility will complement the £10m that regional development agency One North East pledged earlier this month. It will invest the money in a new building to house an offshore wind turbine drive train test rig that Narec and the Energy Technologies Institute have been arranging for two years.

News of new investment will be welcomed by the northeast of England, which has been hit hard by the global recession. The area is a hub for the UK chemical industries but economic woes have forced many companies to shut down or close plants and make their staff redundant.

Ian Williams, director of business and industry at One North East, says: "We are delighted the government has chosen to support this groundbreaking project. Narec is supporting the agency and our many partners to attract global companies to our region.”

Narec is not alone in attempting to advance methods for harnessing the UK’s offshore wind potential. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries vice president Ichiro Fukue has pledged £100m to build a facility in the UK to develop offshore wind, and the government says it will add £30m but as yet a site has not been named.