The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), JBA Consulting and Met Office have joined forces to develop software for operational planning at EMEC’s wave and tidal test sites in Orkney.
The system for Marine Mission Planner will be based on JBA’s ForeCoast Marine Mission Planner – a forecasting and decision support tool designed to help guide vessel operations days, weeks and months ahead.
The ForeCoast Marine Mission Planner will utilise Met Office ensemble forecast data to determine the probability of mission viability.
A range of algorithms will analyse EMEC’s data against the ensemble forecast data to determine whether the forecasted metocean conditions are likely to exceed the safe operating tolerances of the mission based on a breakdown of all mission components, EMEC’s press release reads.
The system aims to reduce operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for marine energy technology developers, by helping optimise O&M strategies resulting in fewer failed maintenance missions.
Stuart Baird , Operations Director at EMEC, said: “This software has great potential to reduce costs for technology developers, improve the safety of marine operations, and provide a best practice model for other marine energy sites across the globe.”
Mark Lawless , Director, JBA Consulting added: “Combining JBA’s innovative Marine Mission Planner with the Met Office’s ensemble forecast data and EMEC’s operational data and expertise will enable the development of a very exciting, and more importantly useful, piece of software that I’m confident will prove indispensable in the future planning of marine activities across EMEC’s test sites in Orkney and around the world.”
JBA Consulting is an environmental engineering company whose marine and coastal specialists provide services in marine and flood modelling, development of forecasting systems, sediment transport analysis and marine and coastal engineering.
The Met Office is the UK’s National Weather and Climate service.
[mappress mapid=”384″]
Image: EMEC