The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has recovered its integrated monitoring pod following months of transmitting real-time data feeds at the Fall of Warness tidal energy test site in Orkney Scotland.
The project is connected to the shore via a subsea cable and has been delivering to EMEC live data feeds back that can be used by marine energy developers using the site.
The project is receiving funding from the Scottish Government via the Marine Renewables Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), which is managed by the Carbon Trust.
The bespoke system, designed by EMEC to operate in high velocity tidal flows, integrates a variety of sensors to undertake comprehensive concurrent environmental measurements, providing improved characterisation of high energy marine environments.
The pod is set up as a plug-and-play prototype with the ability to install additional sensors as required, with future development focused on supporting data collection at commercial marine energy array projects.
EMEC have now recovered the Pod to carry out further inspections and enhancements prior to redeployment in spring 2016.
EMEC managing director Neil Kermode said: “There have been huge learning curves with this project as we’re operating in largely unchartered territory, even within the tidal energy industry, and we’ve learnt, and continue to learn, a great deal which will help support future developments of the Pod as well as other marine operations.
“For example, we’ve found certain materials – connectors for instance – designed for offshore subsea operations are not necessarily suited to cope with the highly oxygenated and turbulent near-shore environment we are working in.
Image: the EMEC pod (Colin Keldie)
