Marine Renewable Research:

1

• Marine Renewable Research
• The SuperGen Marine Energy Research Consortium
• Robin Wallace, University of Edinburgh
• Ian Bryden, Robert Gordon University
• George Smith, Heriot-Watt University
• George Aggidis, University of Lancaster
• Peter McGregor, Fraser of Allander Institute

2
Collaborators

• EMEC Orkney,
• Talisman Energy,
• The Clean Energy Company,
• Umitech,
• Corus,
• Marine Current Turbines,
• The Engineering Business
• IT Power,
• Power Technologies (UK),
• Artemis Intelligent Power Ltd,
• South West Electrolysers,
• Natural Power Company,

• Conoco Europe Gas Ltd,
• INEOS Chlor,
• Scottish Power,
• Scottish Southern Energy,
• Qinetiq,
• SEPA,
• SNH,
• CEFAS,
• HIE,
• Crown Estates
• Met Office
• Sgurr Energy

3
Aims

• To increase knowledge and understanding of the
  extraction of energy from the sea
• To reduce uncertainties for future stakeholders
  in the development and deployment of the
  technology
• To enable progression of new marine energy
  concepts and devices into their true position in
  a future energy portfolio.
• Generic outcomes 3-10 yr horizon leading on to
  paths to equipment and energy markets.

4
Work packages

• 1. Appraisal of marine energy resource and
  interaction between converters and fluid
  environment.
• 2. Development of methodologies for device
  evaluation and optimisation.
• 3. Engineering Guidance
• 4. Offshore energy conversion and power
  conditioning
• 5. Chemical conversion and transport of marine
  energy
• 6. Network Interaction of Marine Energy
• 7. Lifetime economics

5
Work packages

• 8. Moorings
• 9. Novel control systems for marine energy
  converters
• 10. Full-scale Field Validation
• 11. Establishment and Assessment of Laboratory
  Testing Procedures of Tidal Current Energy
  Devices
• 12. Economic, Environmental Social Impact of
  New Marine Technologies for the Production of
  Electricity
• 13. Dissemination and Outreach

6
some key output so far
7
1. Appraisal of marine energy resource and
interaction between converters and fluid
environment.

• Numerical modelling of Orkney wave climate
  (EMEC) and comparison with measured data
• Significant wave height, steepness, direction
• and groupiness (wave height and period)

8
Validation of wave model with Buoy measurements
at EMEC
9
Modelling energy loss from wave environment
10
Tidal current speeds modelled in Yell Sound
11
GIS site selection

• Route avoiding SSSI
• Many other features included

12
3. Engineering guidance

• Will
• (i) establish robust procedures for the design,
  development and evaluation of MECs.
• (ii) advance the science of performance
  measurement.
• develop testing protocols to underpin evolving
  international codes and standards.
• An ongoing task with input
• from internal work packages
• and external activities
• Hard to keep up with
• the industry!

13
4. Offshore energy conversion and power
conditioning

• Will ensure electricity generated by MECs
  integrates with the electricity supply network
  without unduly increasing the cost of connection,
  production or delivery.
• Network friendly generator
• control and transmission
• systems

14
6. Network interaction of marine energy

• Will quantify the interaction of MECs with
  distribution network, mitigate impact on local
  supply quality and allow greater access to the
  electricity market

15
6. Network interaction of marine energy
Scottish TD network model Novel OPF and
congestion management techniques
16
8. Moorings and foundations

• (i) Adapting conventional design methodology to
  particularly apply to moored MECS
• (ii) Experimental and computational experiments

17
9. Novel control systems for MECs

• Will develop adaptive and self-learning control
  systems for generic and specific MECs to increase
  performance and survivability over a wide range
  of changing sea and tidal states.

18
11. Establishment and assessment of laboratory
testing procedures of tidal current energy devices

• Will produce robust Codes of Practice for
  testing of Tidal Energy Conversion systems(TECS)
  in tow tanks and moving flow channels within
  defined limits of scale.

19
Supergen is not just anengineering research
project

• 7. Lifetime economics - Generic methodologies
  and specific techniques for equitable lifetime
  costing and performance appraisal
• 12. Economic, environmental social impact of
  new marine technologies for the production of
  electricity - Will determine the micro- and
  macro-economic mechanisms that will have to exist
  within the regional UK economy to enable, and
  resulting from, greater market penetration of
  marine energy.

20
13. Inreach, outreach and dissemination

• Many opportunities for inreach from academia,
  agencies, government and industry.
• Will
• - add value by including and adding to other
  research groups activities.
• - broadcast new knowledge from marine research.
• - widen industrial/academic network
• - establish travel bursary for external/young
  researchers and staff exchange
• Web site is at http//www.supergen-marine.org.uk

21
Observations

• Open collaboration new way of working
• Outward facing and inclusive
• Inter-dependent WPs require close management but
  offer geometric sum of effort
• Research staff and student mobility excellent
• Many new academic and industrial collaborators