Blog: Another record year for EMEC
Demand for access to wave and tidal test sites at the European Marine Energy Centre has never been higher as the pioneering Orkney based facility gears up for its tenth anniversary year.
All 14 of EMEC’s test berths – at its Billia Croo and Fall of Warness wave and tidal sites – are now contracted out to marine energy developers.
Interest in EMEC’s new smaller scale testing facilities – which bridge the gap between tank testing and full scale prototype testing – has also increased, with the centre offering developers the opportunity to test components and operational techniques.
News of EMEC’s continued growth comes as figures show the marine renewables sector in Orkney supports around 250 jobs. EMEC itself currently employs 22 people in the islands, with the centre injecting an estimated £2.5M into the Highlands and Islands economy during 2012.
“This has been another remarkable year for EMEC in so many ways,” said Neil Kermode, EMEC’s managing director. “Achieving our target of having 100 per cent of our test berths contracted out to developers was a major milestone for us. We’re now looking forward to seeing them all occupied over the next couple of years; and with machines at sea for longer and longer periods.
“Now, as we head into our tenth anniversary year, our priority is to explore how we can expand and diversify the services we offer. We’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to evolve in line with industry needs and we’ll be working hard to stay one step ahead of developments in what is a rapidly changing sector.”
Mr Kermode described marine renewables job figures for Orkney as “hugely encouraging” and proof that wave and tidal energy was here to stay.
“Job creation was one of the driving forces behind the original EMEC vision,” he said. “With 250 people now employed in the sector in Orkney and the local supply chain continuing to expand, it’s clear that marine renewables is becoming an increasingly valuable element of the local economy.
Firmly established as a global centre of excellence in the marine energy field, 2012 saw EMEC forge a number of new links with organisations and emerging wave and tidal test centres around the world.
During the year the centre signed memoranda of understanding with the Ocean Energy Association of Japan, the Oregon Wave Energy Trust and the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Centre, Incheon Metropolitan City in South Korea, and the National Taiwan Ocean University and the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Meanwhile, the centre continued its ongoing partnership work with Canada’s Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy and the Ocean University of China.
EMEC’s operations team had another busy year servicing the centre’s four test sites, assisting developers and supporting several key research projects. Two hundred and sixty five access permits to work on the test sites were issued in 2012, with almost 900 workboat vessel movements logged.
During the year the centre hosted over 400 visitors from around the world, from top politicians and VIPs, to international media representatives.
Already the recipient of a string of industry awards, 2012 saw EMEC’s work recognised with another series of accolades, including a Renewable Energy Associations Flagship Project prize, the Institution of Civil Engineers President’s Award for Energy Infrastructure and a Best Offshore Renewable Energy Award, presented at the Energy North Awards.
July saw the launch of EMEC’s new website – www.emec.org.uk – with visitor numbers already double what they were last year. An EMEC blog, Facebook page and Twitter and LinkedIn accounts have also been created as the centre continues its drive to engage with stakeholders and explain its work to as wide an audience as possible.
“The past year has undoubtedly seen a major shift in attitudes towards marine renewables, with growing global recognition of the sector’s enormous economic and environmental potential,” continued Mr Kermode. “Here in Orkney we’ve led the world with marine energy development over the past decade and we are determined that the islands will continue to play a crucial role as the industry works hard to take that next step into reliable, full-scale commercial operation.”
“As we head towards 2013 and our milestone 10th birthday, we’re confident that efforts to create a sustainable energy system and economy are heading in the right direction. Many challenges remain, particularly around the issue of grid capacity and connection charges, but we believe momentum in the marine energy sector is sufficient to overcome these obstacles.”
Key EMEC Activity in 2012
Billia Croo Wave Test Site
- Aquamarine Power Ltd commenced operational testing of its second generation Oyster 800 device, grid connected for the first time in June,
- E.ON’s P2 device was joined by ScottishPower Renewables’ P2 on its neighbouring berth in a testing collaboration between the two utilities, which follows on from their respective incremental ‘step-up’ test programmes,
- Seatricity began installing its Oceanus device, which is due to be fully deployed in 2013,
- Swedish utility Vattenfall secured the last available wave berth in March, and are due to begin testing a next generation Pelamis device in 2014,
- Wello Oy deployed the Penguin on site for the first time in June.
Fall of Warness Tidal Test Site
- ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest’s 1MW turbine – the HS1000 – delivered energy to the grid for the first time in February, following deployment at the tidal test site last December,
- Atlantis Resources Corporation continues to test the AR1000 at Narec and are due to return to EMEC in the new year,
- Bluewater Energy Services is developing its floating support structure, due to be brought to Orkney in 2014;
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries continues to develop and refine its 1MW turbine, having visited EMEC on numerous occasions throughout the year. The device is due to be deployed in 2014,
- OpenHydro is gearing up to deploy its seventh generation turbine, currently situated at Hatston Industrial Estate, early next year,
- Scotrenewables Tidal Power Ltd successfully generated and exported power in April, and exceeded its device’s rated power output of 250kW in November;
- Tidal Generation Ltd announced its device had generated 250MWh into the national grid since installation on site in 2010. The 500kw nacelle has now been removed and will be replaced by a second-generation 1MW turbine in 2013. It was also announced this year that Alstom had acquired TGL from Rolls Royce,
- Having installed the foundation for its nacelle, Voith Hydro, is preparing to install its tidal turbine next year.
Scale Test Sites
Activity at our scale test sites, which bridge the gap between tank testing and full scale prototype testing, increased significantly during 2012.
- Flumill completed successful trials of its device at the scale tidal test site,
- Nottingham University completed testing of its underwater compressed air energy storage system, the Energy Bag,
- Nautricity announced it would be testing a scale device at EMEC scale tidal test site in 2013,
- AWS conducted trials into anti fouling compounds,
- Tidal Generation Ltd utilised the scale sites to practice some operational activities as part of preparations for the deployment of the firm’s 1MW turbine,
- EMEC received a number of applications via the EU funded MaRINET programme from developers hoping to access funding to use our scale test sites.
Research
The expertise of EMEC’s research team continues to be much in demand, with our staff involved in over 20 projects throughout the year.
- EMEC continued its involvement in the cutting edge ReDAPT project, with a number of key milestones delivered.
- We supported the Flowbec project in the successful deployment of their environmental monitoring lander at the Fall of Warness.
- The first deliverables were submitted for the MaRINET project, which included the production of an equipment database for wave energy testing facilities.
- Four successful meetings of the Developers Research Forum (DRF) were held, with a number of important areas progressed,
- During the year there were four productive meetings of the Monitoring Advisory Group (MAG) resulting in a number of key decisions and recommendations regarding environmental monitoring work being undertaken at all four EMEC test sites.
Industry involvement
As a global centre of excellence EMEC continually plays host to visitors from around the world, with over 400 welcomed during the year.
- VIP’s visiting EMEC in 2012 included Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable MP, Energy Minister Greg Barker MP, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP and Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing MSP,
- We hosted missions from a wide range of locations, including Japan Canada, Brazil, Korea, and the Faroe Islands,
- National and international media interest in EMEC continued to grow, with television crews visiting from the BBC, STV, Bavarian TV, ARTE, NHK and TV Tokyo. Other media visits included the P&J, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle, and BBC Radio.
- EMEC had a presence at 16 key conferences, from All Energy in Aberdeen, to international events in Dublin, Brussels, Washington, Korea, New Zealand, and Canada.
- We participated in 27 working and advisory groups, ranging from Government sponsored task forces to industry strategy groups, crossing the spectrum of subject areas, from consents and navigation, to innovation to education.
