PERISCOPE Partner, EMEC, attends NSRI Wave and Tidal Workshop in Aberdeen, UK
EMEC’s Technical Manager, Elaine Buck, attended the National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI) Wave and Tidal Workshop in Aberdeen in mid-May. The workshop was focused around identifying the challenges of the Wave and Tidal sector. Elaine was invited to present at the event providing EMEC’s experience on ‘Inspection and Condition Monitoring’.
Scotland plays a leading role in the commercialisation of wave and tidal stream energy, including via the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney and the world’s first large-scale tidal stream array, MeyGen, in the Pentland Firth, which generated first power in 2016. The emerging sector is already generating significant commercial opportunities. More than £450m has been spent across the UK wave and tidal supply chain to date and the global industry is forecast to be worth up to £76bn by 2050, subject to successful commercialisation.
The NSRI have identified potential enablers which will assist subsea supply chain companies to break into the growing wave and tidal energy sectors, and associated technological barriers. The findings reveal how UK firms can link up with technology researchers and developers to adapt their offerings and take advantage of the immediate diversification opportunities in marine renewables.
This workshop was aimed at businesses and researchers within the subsea, wave and tidal communities and drew upon research undertaken by NSRI and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult & Energy Technology Partnership to explore current and future technical challenges and commercial opportunities. It also increased oil and gas supply chain awareness of the opportunities within the wave and tidal sectors.
Split into five themes: operations and maintenance; subsea structures; installation; systems; health and safety; and environmental impact, companies can quickly identify how they can support the wave and tidal sectors by selecting their specialisms.