Project to advance ocean renewables launches in Orkney 

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has launched a project to increase the advancement of ocean renewable energy systems. 

The FOREST (Future Ocean Renewable Energy System Technologies) project is funded with a grant from the European Commission for €4m (£3.5m). It brings together partners from the UK, Portugal, Spain and Sweden to drive advancements in subsea components and digital technologies in the sector of ocean renewables, like wave energy devices.  

“This project and its investment in advancing cutting-edge subsea technologies will help to catalyse the advancement of the renewable marine energy sector,” said energy secretary Gillian Martin.

“It is particularly heartening to see that this project is coordinated by Scotland’s European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, supported by Horizon Europe. This international collaboration highlights the importance of sharing expertise and innovation to accelerate market readiness in order to realise the potential of marine energy in supporting our transition to net zero.” 

The FOREST project aims to enhance the performance of ocean energy like tidal and wave systems by reducing the cost, increasing their longevity and accelerating their development as viable energy sources.  

“The FOREST project marks a major step forward for ocean energy, bringing together leading expertise from across Europe to tackle some of the sector’s most persistent challenges,” said Matthew Finn, the managing director at EMEC. 

“By developing and testing next-generation subsea technologies here in Orkney, we’re advancing the reliability and efficiency of the ancillary systems crucial for ocean energy array deployments and helping to drive down costs. This collaboration demonstrates the power of innovation and partnership in accelerating the transition to clean, sustainable energy.” 

The project will aim to develop three main innovations for the sector, focusing on connectivity for ocean energy. Common problems revolve around the ability for energy generated by ocean systems to be transferred from the ocean onto land.

The FOREST project will also look at generating in-depth knowledge on operating ocean energy farms and improving their availability, maintainability, reliability, survivability and sustainability. Innovations from the project will be tested at the EMEC’s wave and tidal test sites in Orkney for compliance and safety testing.