A group of Spanish firms have kick-started an initiative to build a massive 15MW wind turbine in a bid to tackle the technical and financial difficulties afflicting the offshore wind energy market.

Turbine manufacturer Gamesa yesterday confirmed it is leading the project, dubbed Azimut, alongside 11 wind and engineering firms and 22 research centres. It added that the research project will require a total investment of €25m over the next four years.

The main responsibilities will be divided between five firms, with Gamesa heading work on wind capture, Acciona Windpower responsible for electricity conversion, Alstom Wind managing the substructures, Acciona Energía heading up construction, operation and maintenance at offshore sites, and finally Iberdrola Renovables developing the grid connection.

The timetable of the project is slated to be finalised in 2013, but the Azimut group said it hopes to have established the technological groundwork to build the machine by 2020.

The project, which is backed by the Spanish government's Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology, is designed to help the industry overcome some of the technical and financial hurdles currently limiting the rollout of offshore wind energy.

"The most pressing of these obstacles are availability, turbine foundations and energy delivery to land," said Gamesa in a statement. "And [also] narrowing the gap between offshore energy's cost and required investment and those of onshore wind energy sites."

If built, Azimut's wind turbine will be significantly larger than any wind turbine currently planned. US firm Clipper Windpower tops the league at the moment, with plans to build the 10MW Britannia offshore machine in the North East of England, although it is thought that the company is unlikely to deliver a commercial turbine from the project in time for the next wave of Round 3 offshore wind farms.