Vinci VR and Siemens Gamesa Win Grant to Develop VR Training for U.S. Offshore Wind

The $100k+ Award Comes as Part of the Baker Administration’s Efforts to Expand Offshore Wind Workforce Training Programs

Vinci VR, in partnership with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), was awarded funding from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to develop Virtual Reality (VR) training simulations for the nascent offshore wind sector in Massachusetts and the East Coast. Currently, there are limited training resources to address the large workforce gap in US Offshore Wind, which hinders the safe and efficient installation and maintenance of these wind turbines. Thus, SGRE and Vinci VR are collaborating to create low cost VR training to address the workforce gap in a safer, faster and more inexpensive way. These VR solutions will train workers to gain the skills and expertise required in the planning, installation and operations of offshore wind projects throughout Massachusetts and beyond.

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“Offshore wind power is an important part of the clean energy future for not only Massachusetts, but the U.S. as a whole. It will play an important role in a greener future; however, to pull this off, there are pieces of the puzzle that America needs to figure out, such as having a qualified and large workforce,” said Eagle Wu, CEO of VINCI. “Our VR tools can ensure that the U.S. meets its workforce training needs effectively and safely.”

Siemens Gamesa and Vinci VR are preparing the Offshore Wind Workforce with Virtual Reality.

Vinci and SGRE received $124,670 in funding. The grant will be used to create the first Global Wind Organizations (GWO) certified VR training tools, starting with two courses (Basic Technical Training-Installation and Slinger Signaler). Building on this grant, Vinci and SGRE hope to later expand development of VR simulations to additional GWO modules. Vinci VR is creating these simulations in partnership with Siemens, the leading provider of offshore wind turbines globally. The VR integrations for the initial two courses will be developed, audited, and tested by July 2021.

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“The U.S. offshore wind industry is growing and shows a lot of promise. We have already secured over 4 GW of conditional offshore wind turbine orders in the U.S. and with this partnership, we hope to help close the workforce training gap in a safe, expedited and cost-efficient manner, all while increasing probability of U.S. based green energy jobs” said Steve Dayney, Head of Offshore, North America, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. “We are excited to partner with Vinci VR on this innovative training series.”

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