Galway Bay Ocean Observatory Complete

Through the combined effort of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the Marine Institute and Commissioners of Irish Lights, the final piece of equipment has been deployed to give researchers and ocean energy developers unique insight into the Galway bay marine environment.

The Galway Bay underwater ocean observatory will enable the use of cameras, probes and sensors to permit continuous and remote live underwater monitoring. Data from the equipment will be fed via an underwater cable, which was deployed last April, to the Marine Institute where analysis will take place.

The equipment has been installed in the Galway Bay test site, which is an area 1.5km off Spiddal pier and is used primarily to test small scale ocean energy devices. This observatory equipment will allow ocean energy developers to monitor how their devices are performing in the ocean as well as give ocean researchers unique real-time access to monitor ongoing changes in the marine environment.

Also deployed at the test site this weekend was a novel mooring tether developed by an Irish company ‘Technology From Ideas’. This technology reduces the impacts of rough seas on moored devices, thus making them cheaper to design and construct. It also reduces need for excessive ropes and chains for moorings, which reduces impact on the seabed and the environment. The development and testing of the mooring tether is being grant supported by SEAI.

Declan Meally, Head of Emerging Technologies in SEAI commented: “We are seeing lots of great developments in Ireland’s marine and ocean energy research facilities. The new Galway undersea ocean observatory will strengthen our offering and greatly assist the testing of new ocean energy technologies. Also, in helping the development of support structures, such as moorings, SEAI is ensuring that the supply chain for the offshore energy renewable sector is simultaneously progressing.”

The Galway Bay ocean observatory is part of a larger collaborative project between SEAI, the Marine Institute, University College Cork (Marine Renewable Energy Ireland – MaREI), SmartBay Ireland and Dublin City University to upgrade existing facilities at the Galway Bay test site. The overall project has been funded by Science Foundation Ireland and is due to be completed this year.