Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has hired Offshore Wind Consultants (OWC) to carry out a study into the techno-economic benefits of shared services and infrastructure for wind and wave energy technologies and projects.
AqualisBraemar ‘s offshore wind consultancy unit OWC will through a four-month study assess the various levels of sharing of supply chains, physical infrastructure and services between wave energy and floating offshore wind systems.
Sharing scenarios of interest range from co-development, through co-location to sharing a floating substructure, according to WES.
The contract award comes as Scotland embarks on the creation of a huge supply chain and services network to satisfy the massive offshore wind capacity leased through the ScotWind program .
These steps bring potential for increased collaboration between the Scottish wind and wave energy sectors, bringing cost reductions, technical and socio-economic benefits and well as the opportunity to enhance national energy security through a more-varied generation portfolio.
OWC is a specialized and globally focused engineering consultancy offering project development services, owner’s engineering and technical due diligence to the offshore wind industry.
The outcomes of the project will be shared publicly on the Wave Energy Scotland Knowledge Library .
Formed in 2014 at the request of the Scottish government, WES is driving the search for innovative solutions to the technical challenges facing the wave energy sector.
Through its competitive procurement program, the organization supports a range of projects focused on the key systems and sub-systems of wave energy converters. The aim is to produce reliable technology which will result in cost effective wave energy generation.