A new industry partnership has been launched aimed at making the most of the North Sea's renewable energy resource, according to a UK Department of Energy and Climate Change statement Thursday.
Known as "Norstec," it brings together companies that could develop the North Sea as an offshore wind hub and includes generators, manufacturers and supply chain companies.
The name is inspired by the "Desertec" project to produce solar power in the Sahara desert and export it to Europe.
Companies in Norstec include: Alstom, Areva, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, David Brown Gear Systems, Dong Energy, E.ON, EDPR, Fluor, Gamesa, Harland and Wolff, JDR Cables, Mainstream, Modus Seabed Intervention, National Grid, Parsons Brinckerhoff, PMT Industries, Prysmian Group, Renewable UK, REpower, Repsol, Scottish Power, SSE, Siemens, Statkraft, Statoil, TAG Energy Solutions, Vattenfall and Vestas.
The group is expected to meet in June, around the time of the Renewable UK conference on global offshore wind, the government said. The parties will discuss in more detail then how the partnership will operate.