Academics and students from the University of Plymouth are visiting Guernsey on a field visit to make a high level strategic assessment of the offshore renewable energy potential for Guernsey in the medium to longer term.
This initiative is part of Commerce and Employment’s Renewable Energy Team’s (RET) long term strategic alliance with leading UK Universities to progress local macro offshore renewable energy. Previous Plymouth students have carried out individual dissertation projects on the local potential but this will be the first Plymouth group project.
Postgraduate students studying for an MSc in Marine Renewable Energy and several academics will visit the island in early December and form different groups to act as renewable energy consultants to study various aspects of Guernsey’s offshore renewable potential.
Focus would be given to the strategic implementation of offshore wind and tidal stream energy to further refine an energy management strategy for Guernsey. The work is distinct from other studies which other Universities have conducted as this latest study will focus on ascertaining if there is the potential for a more medium term (3-5 years) strategy for the deployment of offshore renewable energy technology in Guernsey based on offshore wind and tidal stream energy.
Amongst other aspects the study will assess:
1) Available resource
2) Technology
3) Installation
4) Planning constraints
5) Economic impacts of offshore renewable energy
6) Electrical infrastructure
7) Environmental impacts
The University will present their findings to RET in both a verbal presentation and written report.
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Press release, December 3, 2012; Image: Alpha Ventus