Offshore Renewables links Scotland and Norway

Orkney businesses are leading players within offshore renewables. Common challenges and needs can lead to mutual beneficial collaboration. The Norwegian cluster GCE Subsea wish to contribute with world leading subsea competence.

Norwegian students, businesses and officials went on a two day visit to Orkney at the end of March 2017. The purpose of the visit was to share information, know-how and experiences related to the opportunities and challenges of technology based community development and sustainable energy systems.

Orkney is World Leading

The delegation met with businesses and organisations such as EMEC, Aquatera, OREF, Community Energy Scotland and others, who are leading forces within the offshore renewables and community development sectors. For example, EMEC offers leading purpose-built, accredited open-sea testing facilities for wave and tidal energy converters and hosts customers from all over the world.

Aquatera is a world leading business in sustainable island energy and has developed more than 400 projects in 30 countries. OREF represents the local supply chain with 20 business members. Community Energy Scotland focuses on sustainable energy development and has over the last years supported 600 community energy installations.

Impressive Master Programmes

ICIT, the Orkney Campus of Heriot Watt University, offers four Master’s programmes:

• Renewable Energy Development
• Marine Renewable Energy
• Marine Resource Management
• Marine Planning for Sustainable Development.

Another new programme named Integrative Marine Services is also under development. Graduates from ICIT are favoured candidates for a variety of jobs with 90 per cent of the graduates being employed within 3 months after graduating.

Opportunities, Needs and Challenges

The planning, development and testing of marine energy systems that has taken place in Orkney over the last 27 years, have revealed many opportunities and challenges covering technical, political, social, economic and environmental issues. Local businesses, academics and communities have found many good solutions from this experience and have also learned many lessons. - Having taken major steps forward to decarbonise our electricity supply using wind energy the next steps are to try and commercialise tidal and wave energy technologies, says Matthew Finn, Senior Business Development Manager at EMEC. - To do this we need to reach out to the established expertise in places like Norway, to help solve critical issues in the design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance of these machines in some of the harshest marine environments on earth, adds Gareth Davies of Aquatera.

Building Collaboration

This study tour followed an earlier visit in April 2016, when GCE Subsea established the first contact with Orkney players. - We then visited Stromness and Kirkwall and felt most welcome, says Trond Strømgren, Subsea Innovator at GCE Subsea. - This year’s study tour aimed to found the basis for deeper future collaboration, Strømgren ends.

Owe Hagesæther, CEO in GCE Subsea, was also part of the Norwegian delegation. - It has been very interesting to get an insight into the offshore renewables industry, he says. – Orkney’s leading role inspires us to engage the Norwegian subsea industry to contribute in solving remaining challenges. I think both parties will have mutual benefits from close collaboration, Hagesæther ends.