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Tidal Technologies: Key issues across planning and development for environmental regulators.
As a key stakeholder in the development and deployment of tidal technologies, it is important for environmental regulators to identify key issues across the planning and development stages of tidal technologies (including wave technologies). A report was commissioned by SNIFFER (Scotland & Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research) carried out by ICIT, Heriot-Watt outlining the key issues for consideration across the planning and development stages of tidal (including wave technologies). It is hoped the report will be used by those involved in policy and planning, who will use it as guideline information when considering applications for new technologies.
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2011 SRDG/MESMA stakeholder workshop report available
A report highlighting the key findings of the SRDG/MESMA Stakeholder Workshop Wave and Tidal Energy in the Pentland Firth Area – stakeholders, who needs them? 9th February 2011 is now available to download. Click here to download the report. |
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ICIT Staff Attending ICES Conference
Prof. Jon Side and Dr. Michael Bell will be convening a theme session at this year's ICES Annual Science Conference entitled "Extracting energy from waves and tides - what are the consequences for ecosystems, physical processes and other sea users?". The conference will be held in Gdansk, Poland, 19-23 September 2011.
Further details of the conference can be found here , also the information on the theme session is available as a pdf file here. |
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ETP PhD Studentship Award
Heriot-Watt has been awarded three Energy Technology Partnership PhD studentships this month. The studentships worth £75,000 each over three and half years, funded by the ETP, the Energy Academy and the company partner. Dr. Rob Harris (ICIT) with Marine Scotland Science has been awarded funding for a project titled “Sub-Mesoscale Flow Regime Modelling and the Influence of Energy Extraction at a Tidal Energy Site: SUNTANS–MEM”. Academic co–supervisor: University of Strathclyde.
The aim of the research thesis is to develop a SUNTANS model to simulate the flow on a sub-meso scale at a typical tidal stream energy site which can be adopted for use as an industry/research tool. We will be starting the recruitment process for a suitable PhD student shortly. If you are interested, please contact Kate Bullen. |
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2011 SRDG/MESMA Stakeholder Workshop
The 2nd Annual SRDG Stakeholder workshop Wave and Tidal Energy in the Pentland Firth Area – stakeholders – who needs them? took place in Inverness on Tuesday 9th February 2011 with around 50 attendees from business, government and local government, fishery associations, NGO’s, civil society organisations and academia bringing together developers, regulators and others with an interest in the sector.
The workshop was designed around three questions about stakeholder participation:
- What steps in the planning and development process require the engagement of stakeholders and why?
- Who should assess respective stakeholder interests and decide between them?
- How equal are stakeholders–is the process accessible and fair?
Three keynote speakers were invited, one each from academia, industry and government, to give the context to discussion in a series of breakout groups (four groups of ten people each) to address each of the questions in turn.
The objectives of the workshop were to contribute to knowledge about the baseline socio—economic conditions in the Pentland Firth by identifying stakeholder interests and the processes for stakeholder engagement which could lead to a balanced and sustainable marine energy industry. Outputs included a guide to policy makers, regulators and stakeholders. Outputs will also be used to compile a questionnaire to test results across a wider constituency. |
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 MASTS/MREDS Marine Renewables Workshops - October 2010
During 19th-22nd October 2010 Heriot-Watt University’s Orkney Campus held a workshop Marine Renewables – a collaborative research programme for the future where over 50 Scottish marine scientists engaged in setting the research agenda in marine renewables, marine spatial planning and marine mapping. The group brought together under the auspices of the MASTS and MREDS Scottish research pools spent 3 days in detailed discussions on the environmental research needs to support the emerging marine renewables sector, and associated governance of this under the new Marine Scotland Act.
The meeting identified several research projects of importance to the emerging marine renewables industry and in particular how developments will interact with the marine environment, its ecology and other users of the sea.
A report of the workshop discussions and outcomes will be available shortly and will form the foundation for the development of new research projects and collaborations among the Scottish Universities. |
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2009 SRDG Stakeholder workshop
The 1st SRDG Annual Stakeholder workshop “Wave and Tidal Energy in the Pentland Firth Area – how much environmental monitoring is enough?” took place in Inverness on Tuesday 1 December 2009 with over 50 delegates attending from a cross-section of organisations including SNH, RSPB, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, OpenHydro, Aquamarine Power and The Crown Estate.
The purpose of this one day workshop was to explore the environmental monitoring requirements for wave and tidal energy development in the Pentland Firth area. Realising the tidal and wave energy potential of the Pentland Firth area is a priority if Scotland is to meet its carbon reduction commitments, while it also offers important potential for economic development. However the physical environment and the ecology of these areas are still not well understood. In addition the environmental effects of marine energy devices are largely unclear. Building a better picture of baseline environmental conditions in the Pentland Firth area is now recognised as a priority for the development of a sustainable marine energy industry.
The aim of the seminar was to bring together commercial developers, regulators and other stakeholders who have a direct interest in the Pentland Firth and consider:
- What environmental data should be collected and why?
- Who should undertake environmental monitoring?
- How should environmental data be collated and disseminated?
This workshop was part funded by the Scottish Funding Council through an SRDG (Strategic Research Development Grant) award to Heriot-Watt University and the Environmental Research Institute at UHI. The award is for investigations into the environmental impacts of marine renewable energy development in Scotland. |
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MASTS/MREDS Future Research Workshops - Marine Renewables
All of the presentations from the MASTS/MREDS Workshop held from the 20th to the 22nd of October, 2009 are now available as PDF files to download Click here for the downloads page. |
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MREDS Meeting, December 2008
The first annual MREDS and SRDG Steering Group meetings were held at ICIT on Friday 5 December.
The MREDS meeting, chaired by Lord Wallace of Tankerness, was attended by funding partners, industrial sponsors, workpackage leaders and researchers. Workpackage leaders gave an update on progress. Several new research opportunities were discussed including the integration of different renewable sources with medium term energy storage. Discussion on the way forward for the MREDS research programme identified Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) as an alternative to public research funding.
The SRDG Steering Group, which focuses on the environmental aspects of the MREDS research, met in the afternoon. The meeting was attended by researchers and other stakeholders, including SNH, RSPB and SEPA. The Steering Group’s task is to identify priorities for research. Again, each workgroup leader gave a presentation on progress, followed by an open discussion.
The meetings were well attended, despite the Green Energy Awards being held in Edinburgh the previous evening.
Professor Jonathan Side would like to extend his thanks to all those who contributed to the meeting.
For more information about the MREDS research programme contact Professor Jonathan Side. |
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SRDG - Advancing Marine Renewable Energy Research Capacity in Scotland
The 2008 Annual Report, part of Work Package 5-is now available here. |
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Presentation at the International Conference on Ocean Energy, October 2008
Dr.Pandian, Mr.Robert Beharie (both from ICIT, Orkney) and Dr.Mark Shields (ERI, Thurso) were participated in the International Conference on Ocean Energy held at Brest, France during 15 - 17, October 2008 and presented a poster titled 'A Multidisciplinary Approach to Advancing Marine Renewable Energy Research in Scotland'. |
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RASCAL PF - a Tidal and Wave Energy Monitoring
Scheme for the Pentland Firth, August 2008
In August 2008 a group of experts met at ICIT on Heriot-Watt
University's Orkney Campus in Stromness to discuss the development of
a comprehensive wave, and tidal current, data acquisition project for
the Pentland Firth. The project called RASCAL PF, is jointly led by
ICIT in Orkney and the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) in Thurso.
Professor Jonathan Side described the project as "an essential
prerequisite to any serious renewable energy development of the Pentland
Firth". The wider project team includes experts from Heriot-Watt
University, ERI, University of Sheffield, Edinburgh University and Stanford
University (California). Professor Side continued to explain that "we
know there is a tremendous amount of energy in the Pentland Firth, however
our knowledge of the complex tidal currents there, and how they interact
with waves, is extremely limited. We know that existing models of the
tidal regime in the Firth fail to describe what is really happening
and RASCAL PF will address this problem" The project team plan
to install novel HF Radar technology in Caithness and Orkney, in addition
to more conventional data recording techniques. This will allow the
team to develop the first accurate model of the tidal flow in the Pentland
Firth. For more information about the project contact Professor
Jon Side.
Left To right: Dr Rob Harris, Professor Margot Gerritsen,
Professor Lucy Wyatt, Dr Sandy Kerr, Dr Pandian Pitchai, Dr Mark Shields,
Professor Jonathan Side, Dr Karl Stephen, Dr Scott Couch, Dr David Woolfe,
Emmanuel Osalusi |
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