UK and US test centres strengthen marine energy ties

 
Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Oregon-based Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) to encourage knowledge exchange and joint research activities.

The signing of the MoU will facilitate cooperation through joint research activities, sharing experiences, and information exchange relevant to the sustainable global development of marine renewable energy, EMEC informed.

Both parties are particularly interested in the development of methods to facilitate environmental studies around marine energy converters.

EMEC and NNMREC are expecting the cooperation to reduce costs while speeding up the development of integrated monitoring technologies, including EMEC’s Integrated Monitoring Pod (IMP), and NNMREC’s intelligent Adaptable Monitoring Package (iAMP).

Elaine Buck, EMEC’s Technical Manager, said: “Developing wave and tidal energy technologies to meet energy demands in a way that is economically viable and environmentally benign is a global challenge: international collaboration is essential to progress with this as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Brian Polagye, Associate Professor at the University of Washington, and Co-Director of NNMREC, added: “NNMREC welcomes the opportunity for broader collaborations with EMEC that help to move our advances in environmental monitoring out of the laboratory and into the field where they can benefit the marine renewables industry.”

The two organisations originally began working together in 2012, with EMEC providing support on the design, set up and operation of NNMREC’s grid-connected marine energy test centre proposed for development off the Pacific Northwest coast known as Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC).

EMEC supported NNMREC with the site selection process, advising on stakeholder engagement, preparing development plans and conducting risk assessments.