Masterclass attendees used the marine simulator to explore the installation and maintenance challenges of novel ORE technologies in varying wave conditions.

News

Graduate R&D Engineer at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Raphaela O’Rorke, recently attended the Supergen ORE Hub Masterclass on Virtual Prototyping of Offshore Renewable Energy Technologies, hosted at the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire.

Here Raphaela shares her experience of the Masterclass.

As I begin my career as a graduate R&D Engineer with EMEC, the masterclasses are a great way of continuing learning and keeping up to date with research in the offshore renewable sector. Last year, I attended the Extreme Value Analysis Masterclass at the University of Exeter, and I was keen to take the opportunity to attend another of the Supergen Masterclasses.

The course explored how simulation tools can be used to inform design refinements to reduce risk prior to device deployment, plan deployment operations and better understand environmental considerations for offshore wind.

Facilities

Although originally set up for decommissioning, the NDC can also simulate deploying devices, anchoring and mooring systems (and much more!)

It is a valuable tool for refining designs and de-risking before real-world testing and deployment in the renewable sector.

It was great to get up close to the facilities and have a chance to be hands-on with the equipment. Seeing the capability of the marine simulator along with the research that is being done there has been great and I will definitely bring this knowledge back to share with colleagues at EMEC.

Forging valuable relationships

The networking value, both with the NDC and the other attendees, was great for forging relationships. EMEC is a world-leading facility within the wave and tidal energy sector, supporting developers with the next steps after tank testing to real-world deployment at our open-sea test sites. To be able to discuss our experience, as well as hear the latest research in the field was valuable on both sides.

I would very much recommend attending the Supergen Masterclasses, if you have the opportunity!

Read the full article on the Supergen website here.

Notes for Editors