EquiMar

EquiMar Project has completed.

The EquiMar Project has finished and the completed elements of Deliverables are available here. However, the main Wiki site will remain available for the next 3 years for the access of the EquiMar Deliverables.

EquiMar involved about 60 scientists, developers, engineers and conservationists from 11 European countries working together to find ways to measure and compare the dozens of tidal and wave energy devices, proposed locations and management systems currently competing for funds, so governments can invest in the best ones and get marine energy on tap fast.  The team has delivered a suite of “high level” protocols – general principles to allow fair comparison of marine energy converters testing and evaluation procedures.  EquiMar protocols (read them here) cover site selection, device engineering design, scaling up designs, deployment of arrays, environmental impact on flora, fauna & landforms, and economic issues. The final EquiMar protocols  establish a sound base for future marine energy standards currently being developed by IEC Technical Committee 114. This project received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement n° FP7-021338

 

Below Professor David Ingram, the EquiMar Project Co-ordinator, explains the background and status of the protocols.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More deliverables.

As the EquiMar project nears its completion, this is a timely reminder that the project deliverables are being added to and updated on a frequent basis. Please check the Project Deliverables page to ascertain both new additions and revisions.

Important public event - April 13th

As a part of European Sustainable Energy Week, there will be a presentation to the public and interested stakeholders about the outcomes of the EquiMar projects. Top ranking European researchers in the field of ocean energy will present the protocols for equitable testing of ocean energy converters. 

This event will take place in the afternoon (1400 to 1730 hrs) of the 13th April on the premises of the Basque Delegation in Brussels, located at Rue des Deux Eglises, 27 in Brussels. The event will be entitled "Equitable Evaluation of Ocean Energy Converters: Protocols from the EquiMar project", and aim to raise awareness of the public about the protocols and the results of the project.

You could find more information on the European Sustainable Energy Week website.

New deliverables are published. Updated

As the EquiMar enters the final phase, a large number of deliverables are being produced. These include updates to existing Deliverables and new Deliverables. Each work group has issued either new or updated deliverables. It is worth checking the Deliverables schedule.

It is always useful to receive feedback and any comments on this Schedule which should reflect the Project Wiki. In this way, we can ensure mistakes, error and oversights are corrected promptly. Thank you again for your help, so far. 

Marine Energy - why is it taking so long?

The Equimar Youtube Channel has some answers........

Marine energy has enormous potential to produce vast, reliable, predictable supplies of clean, green energy. But first tidal and wave energy device developers need to make sure their devices can survive storms and deliver affordable energy – not an easy combination – with a fraction of the investment that has accompanied oil exploration. Equimar is an EU-funded project with more than 60 developers, academics, engineers and conservationists from 11 countries. We’ve been working together for the past three years to come up with one set of protocols or guidelines against which every device can be measured. If those guidelines are adopted across Europe it will make life much easier for investors and governments to make fair comparisons of all the devices being tested on the high seas – hence the name EquiMar– trying to achieve EQUItable comparison of MARine devices. Why is it taking so long for marine energy to come on stream? Feisty Productions – the film-making team working with Equimar – has made three short films to help answer that big question.

1. Seals and Tidal Turbines – can marine devices prove they don’t damage sea mammals or the marine environment?

2. Servicing Tidal Turbines – why maintenance is much harder at sea than on land.

3.Harnessing Wave Energy – how to avoid expensive mistakes at sea -- test models in wave tanks first. And that can take years.

You’ll find these videos on Equimar’s YouTube Channel  and the final protocols will be published by April 2011. 

Harnessing Wave Energy... a new video from EquiMar

The role of testing is an important topic within the EquiMar workpackages. In device development, this can take the form of modelling. In this short video, the 'Wavestar' development history is explored. Important lessons are explained by those close to the project.

ICOE 2010 EquiMar Workshop

At the BEC Bilbao, between 4-5 October 2010 members of the EquiMar projects presented on a variety of the work packages that form the EquiMar protocols. These presentations are available for download here. In conjunction with the other project deliverables, they form a valuable resource in understanding the emerging standards.There are six presentations which are listed below.

 

The environmental impact of devices

The subject of environmental impacts features in the popular perceptions of marine energy devices. In this short video, EquiMar's Lesley Riddoch travels to Strangford Lough to see MCT's 'SeaGen' and meet a variety of different people involved in the project.

 

EquiMar at ICOE 2010

This year’s ICOE, the Conference and Exhibition on Ocean Energy is being staged from 6 to 8 October at the BEC exhibition centre in Bilbao. This international event will enjoy the backing and participation of leading companies from the sector and EquiMar.

EquiMar will be running two workshops in Bilbao, prior to the ICOE conference in October. The first will have a regulatory focus and is aimed at policy makers, financial institutions, standards agencies, regulators and project developers. The second will be more technical, and is aimed at device and technology developers, engineers, researchers and supply chain. Numbers at the workshops will be limited and we would ask that you register to attend. If you cannot attend, but feel that a colleague may be interested, then feel free to pass the invitation on.

Once finalised at the end of this year, the protocols will be published as a book. All attendees at the workshop will be sent a free bound copy in recognition of their contribution to the development process. Presentations and event related material will be made available on this website after the workshops.

Significant new deliverables now available

Workgroups with the EquiMar project have busy across the whole range of work packages. Significant new deliverables as downloads have been made available on this web site.

These include:

D2.3 Application of numerical models

D3.2 Concept Appraisal and Tank Testing Practices for 1st Stage Prototype Devices

D5.3 Protocols & guidance for device specification and quantification of performance

D5.4 Tested version of site/device testing database including initial analysis of interaction effects within arrays

D6.2.1 Draft Scientific Guidelines

D6.4.1 Draft Life Cycle Analysis Protocol

D7.2.2 Dissemination of Economic Assessment Approach to Stakeholders Summary

D7.3.1 Support Structures for Arrays of Wave Energy Devices Report

D7.3.2 Consideration of the cost implications for mooring MEC devices

D7.3.3 Guidelines regarding the variation of infrastructure requirements with scale of deployment

High level EquiMar Protocols are published and available here.

The EquiMar Workgroups and partners are delighted to announce seven high level protocols are now available for use by the marine energy community. The individual protocols are listed below and can be downloaded in PDF format. 

Download the "Resource Assessment" Protocol

Download the "Environmental Assessment" Protocol

Download the "Tank Testing" Protocol

Download the "Sea Trials" Protocol

Download the "Deployment and Performance Assessment of Multi-Megawatt Device Arrays" Protocol

Download the "Project Assessment" Protocol

Download the "Market Assessment" Protocol