RIDING THE WAVES ON ORKNEY
ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd (ABPmer) has been at the forefront of a study to establish performance-assessment criteria that will assist developers of wave devices to harness the power of wave energy, after carrying out detailed testing for the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) on Orkney.
The study was part of a wider programme co-ordinated by SeaPower Europe Ltd, a consultancy and formerly the trade association for marine-renewable energy, to develop a draft performance-assessment standard for Wave Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) in time for the start of testing at the EMEC in the autumn. This work has been jointly funded by Highlands & Islands Enterprise, an Economic Development Agency, and One NorthEast, a Regional Development Agency, who have a shared commitment to marine renewable-energy developments.
ABPmer examined different techniques for assessing the relative power-delivery performance of WECS’ devices, comparing methods which utilised both the 15-year hindcast data set from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) and wave-scatter diagrams in conjunction with synthetic spectra.
While the monitoring of device performance will take place in the full force of Atlantic storms at the test site – two kilometres off Billia Croo on the west coast of the Orkney mainland, near Stromness – the power-prediction methods developed for Orkney have also been tested for use at other sites with different prevailing sea states, by validating them against wave data for a site close to Lundy in the Bristol Channel.
Nick Kitson, of ABPmer, who managed the study, said:
“This project has enabled us to further develop our position of providing specialist scientific services to support marine and offshore wind energy-related developments at both developer and strategic levels.”
In July 2001, Orkney emerged as the preferred site for the European marine
energy-test centre. Orkney has some of the greatest resources of wind, wave and tidal energy available in a single location within Europe and has an impressive record of research and testing for renewable-energy plants. The test centre is currently being commissioned ready for the first device to arrive on station before the winter.
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