Earlier today, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd., based in Orkney, Scotland, announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), based in Oregon, Wash., and Alaska in the USA, to encourage knowledge exchange and joint research activities.
The two organizations originally began working together in 2012, with EMEC providing support on the design, set up and operation of NNMREC’s Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) — a grid-connected marine energy test center proposed for development off the Pacific Northwest coast.
Elaine Buck, EMEC technical manager who signed the MoU, said, “Developing wave and tidal energy technologies to meet energy demands in a way that is economically viable and environmentally benign is a global challenge: international collaboration is essential to progress with this as efficiently and effectively as possible.
“EMEC and NNMREC have developed knowledge in technical, environmental, and economic aspects of marine renewable energy. Sharing our expertise and taking advantage of economies of scale to answer key research questions is of mutual interest.”
EMEC supported NNMREC with the site selection process, advising on stakeholder engagement, preparing development plans and conducting risk assessments.
Building on this, the signing of this MoU will facilitate cooperation through joint research activities, sharing experiences, and information exchange relevant to the sustainable global development of marine renewable energy.
Of particular interest to both parties is the development of methods to facilitate environmental studies around marine energy converters. Both organizations are developing integrated monitoring technologies — EMEC’s Integrated Monitoring Pod and NNMREC’s intelligent Adaptable Monitoring Package — and working in tandem should reduce costs whilst speeding up development of the systems.
