Blog: RenewableUK conference: what a week!
Neil Kermode reflects on the announcements that took place at the Renewable UK Conference last week:
This week has been interesting because I have never had so many people congratulate me on something in which I have only played a bit part. The announcement by Fergus Ewing at the Renewable UK conference in Westminster of £4.1M was particularly welcome; welcome not only because it represents an opportunity for more growth at EMEC, but because a part of it is to fund a locally formed initiative from the supply chain.
A reputable and competent local supply chain has emerged and continues to develop as more and more developers come to test their devices in Orkney. A fleet of locally owned vessels, and those of external contractors, are routinely working in Orkney waters on marine renewables projects. However, they only really get a chance to go and do what they have been asked to do by their paymasters; the developers of machines. We have not yet been able to test and push their capabilities to see how well they do certain tasks and whether they are well within their performance envelopes or right at the edges.
This £1.1M investment will enable the ‘Orkney Fleet’ to undertake trials of techniques for working in the harsh conditions around these islands, and allow the capabilities of the vessels to be better understood without having the pressure of an actual installation. It was a local consultancy company, Aquatera, that brought forward this imaginative idea, and the fact that Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise have welcomed and supported it is excellent news.
The remaining £3M is to put a further cable in at EMEC’s wave test site at Billia Croo, outside Stromness. It will be a bigger wire than the originals, with improved fittings on it and a new way of dealing with the power onshore. So this is not just growth of the wave test site from 5 to 6 cabled berths, but expanding the capabilities of the site to benefit developers.
And if that was not enough the collaboration between the UK’s two Marine Energy Parks was signed: The South West Marine Energy Park in South West England, and The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park have agreed to work together. As well as enabling synergies to be harnessed between the two regions, this collaboration will help keep marine energy at the centre of the political stage.
The conference itself (and the European event that preceded it) was well attended and had a good ‘buzz’ about it. Renewable UK published its report, ‘Wave and Tidal Energy in the UK’, highlighting the many achievements that have already taken place, but also recognising the challenges that lie ahead, and just how far we still have to go.
For me, it really is an exciting time to be working in this industry, and it is a relief to see how many driven people there are in it all pushing towards the same goal.
