THE largest energy company in Denmark has acquired a 22.5% share in Pict Offshore.
ØRSTED partnered up with Pict Offshore, a company set up to commercialise the ‘Get Up Safe’ (GUS) system, a personnel hoist that has resulted from a two-year collaboration between Ørsted and Fife-based height safety specialist Limpet Technology.
The GUS system has been designed to safely lift technicians between small vessels and offshore wind turbines. It will make access safer and easier than the current transfer method, where technicians step from the front of a vessel onto a ladder and then climb up to twenty metres to reach the wind turbine platform. Use of this technology will allow the complete removal of access ladders and boat landing metalwork from the side of offshore turbines, saving huge quantities of steel and associated costs, which will in turn, increase the competitiveness of offshore wind energy.
READ MORE: £30m Scottish Low Carbon Heat Funding announced
Philip Taylor, managing director at Pict Offshore, said: “We have hugely benefited from the local expertise that exists in Scotland for offshore wind and owe a great deal to Scottish Enterprise and the ORE Catapult. The experience and knowledge of Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, has also been instrumental in bringing this new technology to market.”
Mark Porter, senior vice-president for offshore operations at Ørsted, said: “This game-changing new technology can provide a more efficient, safe and cost-effective way of transferring technicians onto offshore wind turbines.
“We’re excited to be working alongside an innovative small business in Pict Offshore to revolutionise the way our technicians get to work. The opportunities for this technology are huge.”
Assembly of the systems will take place at a new site in Inverkeithing, Fife.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here