New UK Project Aims to Reduce Environmental Consenting Time for Offshore Wind

UK-based marine autonomy system provider, Robosys Automation, is leading a new project that aims to transform the environmental consenting process for offshore wind farms by cutting the time it takes to get approval.

Robosys Automation’s partners on the project, named Project ORACLES, include the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, ACUA Ocean, MSEIS, and Plymouth Marine Laboratories, with funding secured through the UK Research and Innovation’s Innovate UK Launchpad programme, in line with the UK government’s Levelling Up plan.

“Currently, the data collection process for environmental monitoring at proposed OWF sites is labour-intensive, with separate providers handling various aspects such as bird monitoring and sea conditions. Data is collected manually and analysed after it reaches shore, significantly slowing down the decision-making process”, Robosys Automation said in a press release.

“Aiming to significantly reduce the approval timeline, Project ORACLES will address this by leveraging advanced marine robotics, advanced autonomous systems, and other digital ocean technologies, to streamline, improve, and accelerate this process, and help meet the UK’s target of 60GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.”

Through a 14-month research phase, the Project ORACLES consortium plans to advance the use of clean maritime solutions, including ACUA’s unmanned survey vessel (USV), which will be equipped with a range of environmental sensors (eDNA, ADCP, acoustics) to collect comprehensive, real-time data on marine life, water quality, and environmental changes.

The consortium will develop a dynamic positioning system (DPS) and a BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) winch profiling system for water column data collection, and integrate multiple sensors delivering a new and highly effective output, together with automated ballasting, according to Robosys Automation, which will additionally deliver a new capability to operate multiple USVs being operated from a single Remote Operations Centre (ROC).

“This ambitious project will revolutionise the environmental consenting process for offshore wind farms (OWFs) in the Celtic Sea and other areas across the UK. These technological innovations will reduce the need for crewed survey missions and accelerate data delivery, enabling a faster, more cost-effective consenting process”, said Nigel Lee, Project Lead and Robosys Automation’s CSO.

“The project’s outcomes will also foster the growth of regional businesses, by opening new markets and supporting the advancement of technological capabilities such as ACUA’s Pioneer USV, and Robosys’ VOYAGER AI advanced maritime autonomy. It will further reinforce the region’s expertise in marine autonomy, clean maritime technologies, and digital ocean innovations to a worldwide stage.”

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