Offshore renewable energy
The University of Exeter has over 20 years’ experience in offshore renewable energy, including wave analysis; marine hydrodynamics; resource modelling; moorings; testing; reliability engineering; offshore installation, monitoring, operations and maintenance.
Research areas
The Offshore Renewable Energy group is a research leader in the fields of marine renewable energy station keeping and fully dynamic mooring simulation. We have expertise in:
- operating offshore test sites;
- field measurement techniques;
- best practice for deployment procedures
- and power cable dynamics
Activities include the development of the Falmouth Bay marine energy test site (FabTest) and Dynamic Marine Component test facility (DMaC), to support the University’s ambition to be national and international leaders in the development of the offshore renewable energy industry.
The group’s research capabilities are supported by an active marine operations team with experience deploying a range of field testing equipment, and expertise in hydrodynamic analysis and deployment. The team provide support to international and national companies and local contractors.
The reliability of marine offshore renewable energy installations is one of the main engineering challenges in the sector. Appropriate reliability information is required by a range of stakeholders including project and device developers, component manufacturers and materials suppliers, investors and insurance companies. The University of Exeter’s research capabilities are supported by an active offshore reliability team.
Research in this area focuses on methods to assess, model, demonstrate, test and improve the reliability of components and systems. We have developed research facilities allowing a service-simulation and accelerated test approach.
Knowledge of the wave and tidal characteristics for a site, including their spatial and temporal variability and extremes, is essential for marine activities such as offshore renewable energy development and aquaculture. Understanding the impacts of offshore development on the physical offshore environment plays a key role in sustainable blue growth.
Our resource characterisation work includes physical measurement of the wave and current regime via offshore instrumentation including wave buoys and ADCPs. We also have expertise in numerical modelling, using state-of-the-art software to predict the available resource and assess impacts of offshore development.
Measurement and analysis of the physical conditions in the ocean, including waves and currents, underpins the design and operation of offshore and coastal engineering, as well as the understanding of oceanographic processes.
Combining offshore instrumentation, remote sensing and numerical modelling of the ocean with software development and high-powered computing, the University of Exeter has a track record of providing innovative measurement solutions for a range of applications. These include the detailed design and monitoring of offshore engineering, and interpreting surface ocean conditions from satellite data. Methodologies developed using the local region have been exported to support national and international projects.
Group members
| Group member | Specialism |
|---|---|
| Prof Lars Johanning (Research Lead) - Professor of Ocean Technology | Hydrodynamics and marine operations |
| Prof Philipp Thies - Associate Professor | Offshore reliability |
| Prof Mohammad Abusara - Associate Professor, Control and Power Electronics | Power electronics |
| Prof Peter Connor - Associate Professor, Sustainable Energy Policy | Renewable energy policy |
| Dr Helen Smith - Senior Lecturer, Renewable Energy | Resource characterisation |
| Dr Ian Ashton - Senior Lecturer, Offshore Technology | Offshore technology |
| Prof Richard Cochrane - Associate Professor, Renewable Energy | Offshore wind |
| Dr Peter Halswell - DMaC Project Engineer | Hydrodynamics and marine operations |
Offshore and marine energy facilities
Falmouth Bay test site (FaBTest)
FaBTest is a pre-consented test area for offshore renewable energy, located within Falmouth Harbour and with easy access to the extensive port infrastructure. This 2.8km2 nursery facility is sheltered from the extreme sea conditions experienced at other test sites, and thus enables device developers to test components, concepts or full-scale devices in a moderate wave climate.
The site offers water depths of 20m-50m and seabed types of rock, gravel and sand, and its pre-consented status enables a fast, flexible, low risk and low cost solution for the testing of marine energy technologies, components, moorings and deployment procedures.
Email: info@fabtest.com
Dynamic Marine Component test facility (DMaC)
The Dynamic Marine Component Test facility (DMaC) is a purpose built test rig that aims to replicate the forces and motions that components are subjected to in offshore applications. The test rig comprises a linear hydraulic cylinder that can be used to replicate axial tension/compression force, and a headstock with three degrees of freedom representative of x- and y-bending and torsion. Download the DMaC specification sheet.
Address: DMaC (building 420), The Docks, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4NR
Telephone: 01326 218168 or< 01326 255751
Email: DMAC@exeter.ac.uk
Research vessel
Offshore Energy research is supported by our dedicated research vessel ‘DevOcean’. Classified MCA Category 2 (12 passengers + 2 crew), the 10.5m vessel has a large deck area for working and a 250kg winch, and is primarily used for ROV work and instrument deployment and servicing.
Contact: Professor Lars Johanning
Offshore instrumentation
The Offshore Energy group owns and operates three wave buoys (2 x SeaWatch Mini II, 1 x Datawell Waverider) and two 4-beam (600kHz and 300kHz) and one bespoke 5-beam 300kHz RDI Sentinel ADCPs for recording in situ wave and current data to support our offshore research projects and FaBTest operation. Additional instrumentation includes a VideoRay Pro 4 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for underwater surveys, WASSP multibeam sonar and SeaPro dropped and towed cameras.
Contact: Professor Lars Johanning
High Performance Computing cluster
The Offshore Energy group has a dedicated 32 node Beowulf cluster to support the high performance computing requirements of our researchers. Running software such as the SWAN wave model and Delft3D Flow, this facility enables us to run state-of-the-art modelling simulations for resource, engineering and environmental impact analysis.
Contact: Professor Lars Johanning
Facilities
Our facilities include:
- Falmouth Bay pre-consented test site
- Dynamic Marine Component test facility for components in offshore applications (DMaC) for components in offshore applications (DMaC)
- Dedicated research vessel
- Wave buoys and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) for wave measurement
Projects
For more information on any of our projects, please contact Professor Lars Johanning.
- EPSRC: Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) hub 2018. Co-Director. EP/S000747/1. Hub led by Plymouth University, 07/2018 - 04/2023.
- EPSRC: EPSRC and NERC Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE). CDT led by Edinburgh University. EP/S023933/1. 10/2019 - 03/2028.
- EU-INTERREG: Funding Atlantic Network for Blue Economy Technology Transfer (FANBEST). (EAPA_1022/2018) funded by Interreg Atlantic Area Programme (European Regional Development Fund). 01/2019 - 12/2021.
- Co-I: EU H2020: Innovative, low cost, low weight and safe floating wind technology optimized for deep water wind sites. (FLOTANT). Grant Nr 815289. Project led by Plocan, Spain. 04/2019 - 03/2022. Website: www.flotantproject.eu
- PI: INNOVATE UK, Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISFC). Autonomous Robotic Intervention System For Extreme Maritime Environments (ARISE) Stage 2, Grant 104831, led by L3HARRIS ASV Ltd, 03/2019 – 05/2021.
- Carbon Trust Floating Wind Joint Industry Project, Floating Wind Technology Acceleration Competition, Intelligent Mooring systems, in collaboration with Intelligent Mooring Systems.
- EPSRC: Resilient Integrated-Coupled Floating Offshore Wind platform design methodology (ResIn). EP/R007519/1. Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), collaborative project with Dalian University of Technology, China. 07/2017 - 07/2020.
- INNOVATE UK: Dynamic Load Reduction and Station Keeping Mooring System for Floating Offshore Wind. Project led by Teqniqa Systems Ltd. Grant 103889, 10/2017 - 02/2020.
The United Kingdom Centre for Marine Renewable Energy (UKCMER) is a virtual centre, funded under RCUK's Energy Programme's SUPERGEN initiative. UKCMER seeks to coordinate research in renewable electricity generation using the power of the waves, tidal currents and floating wind turbines. Core partners in the initiative are the University of Edinburgh, Cranfield University, the University of Exeter, University of Strathclyde and Swansea University.
MaRINET2 is an EU Horizon 2020 €10.5 million project which includes 39 organisations, representing some of the top offshore renewable energy testing facilities in Europe and globally. The project depends on strong international ties across Europe and draws on the expertise and participation of 13 countries. Two facilities at Exeter are supported through this infrastructure project: the Falmouth Bay test site (FaBTest) and the Dynamic Marine Component test facility (DMaC).
The €8m EU Horizon 2020 funded Open Sea Operating Experience to Reduce Wave Energy Cost (OPERA) project aims to contribute to the marine renewable energy knowledge base by providing operational experience and field data from two wave energy installations: a floating Oscillating Water Column (OWC) moored at the BiMEP site in the Bay of Biscay and a shore-based OWC installed at the Mutriku plant.
The project consortium comprises 12 industrial and academic partners across Europe, with the University of Exeter leading the mooring system work package and also involved in the control algorithm design and implementation.
Lobster Grower 2, funded by InnovateUK and BBSRC, is Europe’s largest lobster research project (~£3 million) and follows on from the successful ‘Lobster Grower’ project. Led by the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, this collaborative project is establishing the world’s first pilot-scale on-growing site for clawed lobster using a low carbon sea based container culture approach, which requires no feed input.
The consortium will investigate and assess the economic, technical, environmental and welfare issues associated with lobster mariculture. The University of Exeter is responsible for the development of novel anchoring systems for the containers and the characterisation of waves, currents and turbulence at the site through a combined monitoring and modelling approach.
Intelligent Community Energy (ICE), funded through the Interreg VA Channel programme, aims to develop and promote innovative smart energy solutions for islands or remote communities. Comprising nine partners from the Channel regions of the UK and France, the project is primarily focused on two pilot sites: the island of Ushant in NW France and the University of East Anglia campus in Norwich.
The project will consider aspects such as the regulatory environment, available renewable energy resources, existing energy demand and public opinion to design and implement smart grid solutions for the pilot sites and develop a transferable methodology that can be applied in other remote locations.
Marine-i is a £9.3m project focused on four interconnected themes: marine energy, marine manufacturing, maritime operations and marine environmental technologies, to stimulate and support business-led and market-driven research and development and innovation to drive productivity and the exploitation of new market opportunities.
The project is a collaboration between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, the Cornwall College Group, Cornwall Marine Network, Cornwall Development Company and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.
The project team is based at the Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park ‘Chi Gallos’. Marine-i supports businesses wishing to access the £3.18m Marine Challenge Fund – a delegated grant scheme that has been specifically designed to drive marine sector research, development and innovation.
A joint collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh, Exeter and Strathclyde, the IDCORE programme is industry-focused and designed to train world-class research engineers in the field of offshore wind, wave and tidal stream technologies. Following a year of taught modules, IDCORE students complete their EngD project based at a sponsoring company with academic support, addressing some of the real challenges facing the offshore energy industry.
TIGER is funded by Interreg France (Channel) England Programme, receiving ERDF funding of € 29 million with a total project budget of € 45 Million and is running from 2019 to 2023. The TIGER project will demonstrate that tidal stream energy is a maturing industry, capable of achieving an accelerated cost reduction pathway. The project will build cross-border partnerships to develop new technologies, test and demonstrate up to 8 MW of new tidal capacity at a number of locations around the Channel region, and use the learning from this development to make a stronger, cost-effective case for tidal energy as part of the France/UK energy mix. The project is the largest ever to be approved not only by the France (Channel) England Programme but by any Interreg programme.
Wave energy is arguably the world’s most valuable renewable energy resource. But the huge potential that it offers has yet to be realised. That is why the WEDUSEA project has been created. The success of the €19.6 million WEDUSEA project will be a catalyst for the industrialisation of wave energy in Europe and around the world.
To make this happen, WEDUSEA has created a unique collaboration between 14 partners spanning industry and academia from across Ireland, the UK, France, Germany and Spain. Each partner brings their own leading-edge technical skills and research expertise to the WEDUSEA project. Co-funded by the EU Horizon Europe Programme and Innovate UK, WEDUSEA is set to be a game-changer for wave energy worldwide.
