Brainwaves that might save wind farms £3bn

A boat with a giant robotic arm and a "seahorse" vessel could generate £3bn a year in revenue by making it easier to mend and maintain the next generation of offshore wind turbines.

The Carbon Trust is running a competition to solve the problem of getting engineers safely on to wind turbines and has shortlisted 13 designs for potential development. The new generation of offshore wind farms will lie as far as 290km out to sea, where conditions are much rougher than most existing farms, and current equipment would only function about 210 days a year. The Trust said new equipment would increase "turbine availability" by 4 per cent, upping energy generation revenues by £3bn a year. TOM BAWDEN