Kevin Forshaw highlights the potential of the FLOW development in the Celtic Sea to decarbonise our power grid and create new opportunities for the region. He explores how the University of Plymouth's research capabilities and advanced facilities can provide valuable support to the developers for the successful implementation of this project.
The Celtic Sea provides a huge opportunity related to the deployment of offshore wind and renewable energy to meet UK Government targets of generating 4.5 GW of energy by 2035, and additional 20 GW by 2045.
The University is in a unique position in that we have a full ecosystem supporting all aspects of deployment of new and novel maritime technology.
As a significant enabler for the roll-out of Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW), we:
• Optimise the hydrodynamic design of Offshore Renewable Structures, for performance and survivability;
• Lead on advanced, high-tech autonomous ocean data collection;
• Enhance and safeguard operations with our state-of-the-art simulators and cyber resilience test-beds;
• Fundamentally understand how operations will interact with the ocean environment through our leading marine science research.
We are leading on this research insight for the sector, enabled by significant investment over 12 years in our COAST Lab and leadership of the national Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub, our new Kongsberg DP Simulator, nationally unique Cyber-SHIP Lab and extensive robotic fleet.
Already engaging 100’s of companies small, large, local and international, in partnerships that will not only de-risk and optimise their operations, but also see our highly skilled graduates becoming a vital part of their future workforce going forwards. https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/celtic-sea