The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has teamed up with the country’s national ocean test centre Lir NOTF to offer free-of-charge access to its research and testing facilities for offshore renewable energy developers.
The access programme to the Lir NOTF is designed to enable the testing and progression of offshore renewable energy (ORE) technologies through the early development stages in advance of open sea testing.
Supported by SEAI, the free testing call is open for applications for any type of ORE technology that can be tested at Lir NOTF until 24 September 2021.
The test facilities include multidirectional wave basin, wave/current flume, wave flume and wave basin, and an electrical laboratory facility.
The range of available facilities provide potential users with the capability to test technology relating to offshore wind, tidal and wave energy, floating solar, as well as electrical and grid integration, and cross cutting technologies.
According to the call guidelines, detailed information is required regarding the proposed work, the test plan, the technical requirements and the anticipated outcomes.
Discussions between the applicant and the facility manager are mandatory during the application phase to ensure the facility is suitable for the proposed testing and to fine-tune the application, the guidelines state.
Each application will be evaluated by an independent selection panel who will consider the eligibility of the proposal and the technical feasibility, according to SEAI.
After the evaluation, the successful applicants will be notified and subsequently contacted by the facility managers to begin the process of organising the test campaign, which can last for up to two weeks or equivalent value.
Located in Ringaskiddy in Country Cork, the Lir-National Ocean Test Facility (Lir NOTF) is Ireland’s primary facility for testing and development of offshore technologies, with a long track record in supporting such technologies through early-stage technology readiness level (TRL) development.