Collaborative Working with Subsea Data

By theorkneynews on March 29, 2018 • ( 1 Comment )

Billia Croo Wave Energy Test Site, Orkney

Aerial of EMEC Billia Croo wave test site (Credit Colin Keldie)

Sea bed surveys have been conducted on Mainland’s west coast by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

They are now sharing their data with Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

SSEN have been putting forward their proposal for new subsea cabling to the UK mainland and the surveys were part of their research.

Orkney has some of the highest wave energy potentials in Europe, with various prototypes being put through their paces at EMEC to learn how best to harness the vast power of the sea.

SSEN are providing EMEC with updated bathymetry and side-scan sonar, which have been captured with state of the art technology providing high resolution 3D views of the seabed. This is supplemented with sub-bottom profiling which will let developers planning to test at EMEC better understand how deep the sand is to support mooring design and configurations.

Peter Jordan, SSEN Project Manager, said:

“We recognise that Orkney is home to some of Europe’s greatest renewable resources and there is a clear need to provide a transmission reinforcement to allow Orkney to realise its vast renewable potential.

“As a responsible developer, we want to ensure that our proposals demonstrate value to local communities and stakeholders and I am glad that we were able to provide this data to facilitate further renewable energy in Orkney.”

John Skuse, Operations and Maintenance Manager, EMEC, said:

“EMEC are very grateful to SSEN for providing us with updated bathymetry and site profiling data covering a considerable area of our wave test site at Billia Croo.

“This information will allow developers to better optimise their device and mooring designs with the confidence that they will match the seabed conditions. This will support time and cost savings for developers installing new devices in the coming months and years.”