Offshore renewables - operations and maintenance event.

Report and presentations from the seminar held 12 May 2004 in Nairn.

The renewable energy sector is at a point where significant developments of first generation wind turbines are now being installed offshore around the UK and abroad. The seminar held in Nairn was arranged to allow examination of the issues surrounding the operations and maintenance of these turbines and marine devices and to engage local businesses in the potential market.

Presentations giving the best available information on this potential market sector were made by several leading organisations and issues considered to be critical to the sector such as maintenance, access and reliability of components were discussed. Health and safety aspects, handling techniques, corrosion and current operating and maintenance (O&M) strategies based on the limitations of current technology were also examined.

Presentations were given by the following organisations:

AMEC Wind – with many years of experience in developing on and offshore windfarms, AMEC are currently developing a number of onshore windfarms in the Highlands and Islands as well as the Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farms off the east coast of England.

Frontier - Frontier are currently engaged in an O&M strategy study for Talisman’s proposed offshore windfarm using the Beatrice Platform in the Moray Firth.

Ocean Power Delivery and Wavegen - Both these leading developers of wave energy devices, gave their views on wave energy O&M.

CREST – (Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology) at Loughbrough University together with European partner organizations have been studying condition monitoring of wind turbine systems in conjunction with major component suppliers to the wind turbine market.

EMEC - The European Marine Energy Centre provides offshore testing facilities for wave, and in the future, tidal energy devices. The centre will be a final proving ground for pre-production devices.