The UK’s Crown Estate has signed a lease agreement with 2-B Energy’s subsidiary Forthwind for the nation’s first offshore two-bladed turbine demonstration on the seabed at Methil in Scotland.

The demonstration involves the installation of two 6MW full-scale units at Methil.

The 6MW two-bladed turbine, designed for offshore wind industry, is claimed to be the first of its kind in the world.

Earlier, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) granted support, along with investment from the Scottish Investment Bank, to 2-B Energy for the development of full-scale onshore prototype in the Netherlands.

Prior to the grant, two offshore machines have already been planned for Methil and will be deployed in 2016, following planning approval.

The Crown Estate Offshore Wind head Huub den Rooijen said: “In order to fully unlock the potential of offshore wind over the long term, it is vital that opportunities are made available to test and demonstrate innovative and emerging technology platforms to bring down costs and secure the UK’s position as a global leader in offshore wind technology.

“As such, we are pleased to have concluded an Agreement for Lease with 2-B Energy and look forward with interest to seeing the technology mature.”

In addition to the two-bladed turbine design, the company is considering integrating wind turbine technology with grid and access systems innovations and the installation process, and a new operational strategy, to reduce costs.

2-B Energy chief operating officer Mikael Jakobsson said: “We hope that through this offshore development and demonstration step, and following the completion of our first on-shore demonstrator in early 2015, to be able to validate significant cost reductions in future offshore wind deployment.”