SW England testbed opportunities for marine renewable energy & offshore engineering

Prof Martin J AttrillDirector, Plymouth University Marine Institutemattrill@plymouth.ac.uk@mjattrill

SW England as a centre for UK’s renewable industry

Only region with all renewable energy resources close to major ports & infrastructure

Wave SolarTidalWind

• The South West is the first region in the UK to be designated as a marine energy park (Jan 2012)

• a collaborative partnership between local and national government, Local Enterprise Partnerships, technology developers, academia and industry.

• a physical and geographic zone with priority focus for marine technology development, energy generation projects and industry growth.

South West Marine Energy Park (SWMEP)

• COAST laboratory (Plymouth University)• FaBTest (Exeter University/Falmouth Port)• Wave Hub (EU/UK/regional government

investment)• PRIMaRE (Plymouth & Exeter Universities)

South West Marine Energy Park Testbed Opportunities

• £19m development within Plymouth University’s Marine Building

• Ocean Basin (35x15.5x3m)– 24 independently controlled wave generators & 2-

directional current– Suite of s-o-t-a instrumentation– Most advanced ocean modelling facility in UK

• Coastal Basin (15.5x10x0.5m)– Waves & currents onto a beach– Option for use with sediment

• Sediment Wave Flumes– 3 flumes, wave and current, with or without

sediment– Largest: 35x0.6x0.8m

Coastal Ocean and Sediment Transport Laboratory (COAST)

• Video to be shown here

Coastal Ocean and Sediment Transport Laboratory (COAST)

• The Falmouth Bay Test site (FaBTest) is a 2.8km2 area dedicated to the testing of marine energy converters (MECs)

• Prevailing high energy westerly swells but in lee of the Lizard Peninsula – relative shelter for device/ prototype survivability testing

• Testing of wave energy technologies, components, moorings and deployment procedures

• Data collection - developers gain understanding of any MEC noise impacts and energy conversion (if relevant) throughout FaBTest deployment (monthly HSE reporting)

Falmouth Bay Testing Site (FabTest)

• £42 million scheme creating world’s first grid-connected, offshore wave-energy testing facility

• It consists of an electrical hub on the seabed 16 kilometres off the north coast of Cornwall in South West England to which wave energy devices can be connected.

• The 12-tonne hub is linked to the UK’s grid network via a 25km, 1300 tonne subsea cable operating at 11kV.

• 8 km2 licenced area supporting 4 companies’ devices & arrays (20 MW capacity)

• Also suitable for tidal devices and floating wind

The Wave Hub

• A co-operative research collaboration (2007) between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth – now extending region-wide

• Providing world-class academic support and facilities for industry and governments– Resource characterisation and Marine operations

(WICI)– Safe and economic operations and marine risk

mitigation – Environmental impact– Underwater and surface electrical systems– Socio-Economic factors

• SW has ability to support industry from concept to commercial deployment

Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE)