In Brief

The Challenge

Offshore renewable energy resources are vast and are largely underexploited, primarily due to a lack of critical key measured data to inform system designs. The push for offshore renewable energy is supported by government policy throughout the EU and internationally. The Government of Ireland, through its climate action bill, is planning a €50 billion investment in offshore wind energy. Achieving this ambitious goal will require a large amount of research work in this area. Successful deployment of offshore renewable energy devices in harsh sea conditions will require comprehensive measured datasets encompassing wind, wave and tidal resource characteristics.

The Solution

This project focuses on the development of a floating offshore measurement platform. The floating measurement platform will measure wind, wave and tidal energy resource characteristics using state-of-the-art techniques. The data collected from the floating measurement platform will provide the end user with a comprehensive description of the offshore energy site. Details of the wave and tidal loads, obtained from the measured datasets, will assist with any design considerations of the support structures and provide input to array spacing design. The system proposed will have a considerable impact on the rate of development of marine renewable energy by providing the industry with an innovative measurement product. 

The Team

  • Team Lead: Dr Fergal O’Rourke, Dundalk Institute of Technology  
  • Team Co-Lead: Dr Peter Ryan, Dundalk Institute of Technology  

Societal Impact Champion

  • Peter D Coyle, Marine Renewables Industry Association