Media release
Hi-tech collaborative project to cut costs and boost confidence in
tidal energy projects
Research could see blades of subsea turbines fitted with new sensors
A new type of sensor could soon be installed on the blades of subsea tidal turbines to
monitor the interaction between marine life and renewable energy installations, as a result of
a new collaborative project involving the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and
CENSIS.
The initiative is the first time the government-backed Catapults and Innovation Centres have
worked together.
The organisations’ research will aim to improve the monitoring of activity around subsea tidal
installations and provide a warning when there is a risk of a collision with a tidal device. The
project partners will assess whether sensor technology from other industries can be
employed to detect, monitor and forewarn of potential collisions with tidal energy devices, or
if a new sensor technology is needed.
Current monitoring processes can be very expensive, involving teams of watchers on the
seashore and a mixture of subsea listening devices. Subsequently, the cost of subsea
environmental monitoring can be substantial and inconclusive when it is difficult to confirm
surface sightings with events beneath the waves.
Regulations stipulate that developers must analyse the environment around a proposed site
for two years prior to installation, as well as during the construction phase and throughout
the plant’s operation. This is likely to be at least 20-25 years.
Vicky Coy, Project Manager at ORE Catapult, said: “Tidal energy is an emerging market with
great export potential, which the UK has the potential to lead. We have some of the best tidal
resources around the UK and are already at the forefront of industry research, leading in the
design and demonstration of this technology. Scotland, in particular, has a number of rich
tidal energy sites with the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters among the greatest in the UK.
“Our primary concern is safety: the safety of both the natural environment in which we want
to operate and of the equipment we want to install and use to generate energy. To achieve
that, we must design reliable monitoring systems that confirm these systems can be
comfortably integrated into the subsea environment. But, we also need to make the
technology cost effective. Another aspect of this project is to simplify and reduce the costs
from what is, in effect, the subsea equivalent of the planning process.
“Tidal energy developers tend to be small and medium-sized companies with limited
resources, so any costs which can be removed at the same time as improving safety will be
welcomed by the industry. We’ve had a lot of positive engagement from both the business
and academic communities, and we’re looking to harness this support further when we move
to the next stages of this initiative.”
There are a number of developments at various stages of the planning process in the tidal
energy market. The first and most high profile of these is the MeyGen project located in the
North of Scotland. It aims to deploy up to 398MW of offshore tidal stream turbines by the
early 2020s.
Gavin Burrows, Project Manager at CENSIS, said: “We’re working with a number of
organisations to articulate the needs for a sensor system with the appropriate sensitivities –
one that can provide evidence of how marine mammals behave near tidal turbines and also
determine what exactly has impacted on a particular asset, should a collision occur. It’s most
likely that sensors, whether these are brought in from another industry or developed
specifically for this purpose, will be built into the blades of subsea turbines. This could have
applications in a range of other offshore devices, not just in the tidal energy market.
“There is significant potential for us to export the skills and expertise we’ll be developing as
part of this project – particularly as we move into the demonstration and commercialisation
phases. Likewise, researchers will have access to new and hitherto untapped data, giving
them the opportunity to accelerate the industry. The potential is there for our academic and
business communities to take further leaps forward in the tidal energy market – our aim is to
make this happen and create economic value out of the research for Scotland.”
ENDS//
Notes to editors
1.
About CENSIS
CENSIS is the Scottish Centre for Sensors and Imaging Systems, which aims to bring
together commercial innovation and academic research, to drive economic activity in
Scotland. Established in April 2013 with an initial £10 million funding, it expects to deliver
150 collaborative R&D projects and assist Scotland’s 170 companies in the industry which,
between them, contribute £2.6 billion to the economy. It is funded by the Scottish Funding
Council, with additional support from the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and
Highlands & Islands Enterprise.
2.
About Innovation Centres
The Innovation Centres, which were launched in 2014 and in the latter part of 2013, sit within
the construction industry, oil and gas, stratified medicine, digital health, industrial bio-tech,
and sensors and imaging. Each Centre aims to establish bonds between Scotland’s
universities and their respective industry sectors, translating the knowledge and expertise
into commercially viable products and companies to benefit the country’s economy.
3.
About ORE Catapult
ORE Catapult was established in 2013 by the UK Government and is one of seven such
Catapults set up by Innovate UK in high growth industries. It is the UK’s flagship technology
innovation and research centre for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy and delivers
prioritised research underpinned by world-class test and demonstration facilities,
collaborating with industry, academia and Government to reduce the cost of offshore
renewable energy and create UK economic benefit.
www.ore.catapult.org.uk