Offshore Renewables Institute

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Chad Hodges
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1 Offshore Renewables Institute Introducing the Offshore Renewables Institute (ORI)

About Us We bring together experts and expertise from across a broad university partnership: the University of Dundee; the University of Aberdeen; and Robert Gordon University.

Our collective vision is to become the recognised global authority on the delivery and implementation of offshore renewable energy.

the expanding offshore renewable industry, both globally and locally in the North Sea; Coordinating high quality, useful, fundamental and industry relevant research from across the three university

2 About Us We bring together experts and expertise from across a broad university partnership: the University of Dundee; the University of Aberdeen; and Robert Gordon University. Working together, we are focused on developing and delivering solutions to the offshore wind industry, in the North Sea and globally. Our collective vision is to become the recognised global authority on the delivery and implementation of offshore renewable energy. What we do We provide effective, practical and timely help to the offshore renewable sector, industry, government, and the wider public/civil society by: Developing and deploying expertise to support the expanding offshore renewable industry, both globally and locally in the North Sea; Coordinating high quality, useful, fundamental and industry relevant research from across the three university partners; Providing timely, informative, practical and demand-led training courses at an affordable price to industry and government; Proactively and strategically engaging with other institutions globally in order to both spur our own organisational learning and to maximise our reach and impact; Overcoming man-made barriers constructed between disciplines such as economics, environmental science, law, management and engineering to allow for innovative and inter-disciplinary thinking. As a result, throwing fresh light on seemingly intractable problems, thereby uncovering and delivering innovative and efficacious solutions to our customers; Developing an unparalleled scientific evidence base to inform future decision making. Practical Help for Industry and Government The ORI offers an interdisciplinary and integrated approach bringing together experts, researchers, and knowledge from different disciplines and all three university partners to confront challenges faced by Industry and Government in delivering and managing the offshore wind industry. The help that we provide is built upon the following thematic areas: Founding Director - Professor Paul Mitchell Framing Consenting Deploying Managing Paul has over thirty years experience in conducting research, development and demonstration in renewable energies. His breadth of expertise covers technical, economic, environmental aspects, implementation and systems integration. Paul is on the Boards of Scottish Renewables, Energy Technology Partnership (ETP), Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG), and the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC). Regulation, Law & Economics Policy Regulation Finance Support mechanisms Environment & Consents Environmental Impact Long term monitoring Mitigation strategies Consents Design, Fabrication & Installation Foundations & Substructures Geotechnics Access Alliancing strategies Asset Management Operations Safety & Reliability Access Health & Safety Workforce management

Framing The projected expansion of the offshore renewables industry is dependent upon a supportive policy and market framework that is intended to drive investment towards low carbon energy sources.

Additionally, the availability of necessary finance to deliver the industry at the projected rates is also a key factor affecting the industry.

compete with other forms of electricity generation.

3 Framing The projected expansion of the offshore renewables industry is dependent upon a supportive policy and market framework that is intended to drive investment towards low carbon energy sources. However, the UK is about to embark upon radical changes to its electricity market mechanism, and this is a current source of uncertainty in the industry. Additionally, the availability of necessary finance to deliver the industry at the projected rates is also a key factor affecting the industry. Despite these evolving legal and policy frameworks and uncertain market conditions, the industry is expected to demonstrate a better social, political and economic return on investment in order to compete with other forms of electricity generation. The ORI will leverage experience of energy markets, economics, policy and law from the UK, Europe and beyond, in order to provide guidance, advice and independent assessments of the likely impacts of these changes to both Government and industry. The ORI will also act to help reduce risks and investment uncertainty by developing and applying bespoke models to support industry forecasts. In addition, the ORI s experience in contract law for the energy industry will provide support at various stages of an offshore renewable project life cycle, informing procurement and alliancing strategies. Consenting The process of obtaining the necessary consents to develop an offshore wind farm typically requires at least 2 years of environmental data, to monitor the potential effects of a development upon marine life and other stakeholders. This can be problematic as there is uncertainty about the type and amount of data that are required in order to demonstrate that a proposed development does not pose a risk of creating harm. Additionally, there is great uncertainty about the possible cumulative effects of multiple large-scale developments upon the marine environment. Other stakeholder groups include fisheries, shipping, defence, aviation, leisure, as well as local residents onshore, and their requirements all need to be carefully addressed during the consenting process. The ORI will use its wealth of knowledge based on research, and experience of participating in the consenting process for existing developments, to work with developers, regulators and stakeholder groups (such as Non-Governmental Organisations) to build knowledge and promote better understanding. The ORI will collect, analyse and interpret data from the offshore environment prior to and during construction and operation of projects, establishing baselines, and promoting understanding of legal frameworks that will enable timely, evidence-based consenting decisions.

Deploying Initial offshore wind projects have been relatively small, in shallow water and relatively close to land, but as the industry has developed during the last decade, different installation

The Beatrice Demonstration project illustrated that large offshore turbines can be installed in deeper waters, further from shore; the proposed zones for development in the next decade will provide

Different types of turbines, foundations, and installation and maintenance vessels have evolved with development of the industry, which means that projects can be executed with a range of different

4 Deploying Initial offshore wind projects have been relatively small, in shallow water and relatively close to land, but as the industry has developed during the last decade, different installation methods have been necessitated by the individual challenges of each project location. The Beatrice Demonstration project illustrated that large offshore turbines can be installed in deeper waters, further from shore; the proposed zones for development in the next decade will provide the industry with even greater challenges. Different types of turbines, foundations, and installation and maintenance vessels have evolved with development of the industry, which means that projects can be executed with a range of different installation techniques based on combinations of the type of foundation, vessel, and turbine used, and the specific challenges of the project location. Offshore wind turbines are typically mounted on foundations and substructures. The design of foundations and substructures is influenced by various factors such as maximum wind speed, water depth, wave heights, and seabed geology. Four types of foundations are commonly used: jackets, gravity-based, monopiles and tripods. The ORI will support the industry by providing advice on the deployment of foundations, substructures and turbines, and addressing the challenges of installing these structures in different conditions. The ORI will also work with wind farm developers to inform installation strategies considering various factors such as installation vessel type; project cost and completion timings based on using certain vessels; vessel intake versus turn-around time; charter cost, charter period; and mobilization and demobilization cost. The Deployment theme will involve extensive interfaces with the Managing and Consenting themes, to ensure that the deployment strategies are appropriate for later operations and maintenance strategies, and also have minimal environmental impacts through designing installation methods that reduce disturbance to sea life. Managing Post-deployment, operations and maintenance activities will support the lifetime operation of an offshore wind farm to minimise any disruption to energy generation and maximise output. Operations and maintenance costs can have significant impacts upon the returns that can be expected for a project. However, designing operation and maintenance strategies that will lead to the highest possible availability of offshore wind turbines will be challenging, considering the location of current and future projects, in deeper waters and further from shore. In order to minimise losses from unscheduled downtime, it is important to access turbines in a range of weather conditions. Asset management and preventative maintenance strategies are dependent upon: Distance from port to wind farm Availability of quay side laydown space Availability of skilled resources Availability of condition monitoring and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) facilities. Transporting equipment and maintenance personnel The ORI will work with offshore wind stakeholders through the collection and analysis of data from operational wind farms to inform operations and maintenance strategies, in order to maximise electricity generation and reduce operations and maintenance costs.

5 Contact Us Professor Paul Mitchell, Director mail ORI, University of Dundee, Ewing Building, Dundee DD1 4HN tel +44 (0)

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