SITE VISITS REPORT ISLE OF WIGHT 13 TH & 15 TH May 2014

Transcription

1 SITE VISITS REPORT ISLE OF WIGHT 13 TH & 15 TH May 2014 FINAL VERSION, AUGUST 2014 Jim Fawcett Isle of Wight Council,

2 SITE VISITS REPORT ISLE OF WIGHT INTRODUCTION Representatives of all the Pro-Tide project partners and sub-partners travelled to the Isle of Wight () for a series of meeting from May This included a Partner s Meeting, Economy Master Class, Ecology Master Class and Technical Research Group meeting. The project took the opportunity to undertake two site visits to better understand tidal energy developments on the Isle of Wight. The visits were as follows: Tuesday 13 th May, PTEC demonstration site Thursday 15 th May, SME manufacturing base PTEC DEMONSTRATION SITE Pro-Tide is assisting the development of the Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre (PTEC), which will host devices up to full scale in single units and arrays. PTEC covers an area of approximately 5 km 2 located around 2.5km south of St. Catherine s Point off the southern tip of the Isle of Wight (see below). 2

3 In addition to the offshore site, PTEC includes a cable corridor which marks the route of the export cables from the site to landfall to the west of Ventnor, from where they connect, via a substation, to the Island s electricity grid. The site visit began with a trip to the landfall location where Jim Fawcett, project manager for the Isle of Wight Council, showed delegates the proposed location for the project substation and explained the terrestrial surveys that were underway to determine the environmental and socio-economic impacts of both the substation and the cable route. In order to minimise environmental impacts, PTEC is currently considering locating the substation within a sewage pumping station compound and utilising the disused outfall pipe from the pumping station as a conduit for the export cables, thus minimising disturbance to the intertidal zone ecology. This is subject to a number of technical tests and options to trench the cables through the intertidal zone and to use Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) are also being considered. Delegates were also informed of the distance and high costs of installing export cables for offshore energy projects. Following the visit to the cable landfall location, 12 delegates were taken to Ventnor to board a vessel hired from Cheetah Marine, a boatbuilding and charter business based in the town. The boat trip was limited to 12 delegates due to the safety limit of the boat and the remaining delegates were taken to St. Catherine s Lighthouse from where the site could be viewed from land. 3 Skipper Sean Strevens (Cheetah Marine) explains tidal flows at the PTEC test and demonstration site to members of Pro-Tide. The centre of the PTEC site lies some 7km from Ventnor and the boat steamed to this point in approximately 25 minutes. The skipper turned off the boat s engines at this point to show delegates the extent of the site and also to demonstrate the strength of the tidal flow by letting the boat drift on the flooding tide. Using the boats sonar

4 system, delegates were able to view the complex sea floor bathymetry and understand the preferred locations for the deployment of tidal turbines. The skipper, who is involved in the fishing industry, also discussed potential conflicts with the commercial fishing industry, since the area is currently used for crab and lobster fishing. There was a general discussion about how to overcome such conflicts which PTEC will be addressing in its consent applications. 4 Pro-Tide delegates outside St. Catherine s lighthouse which is the closest landfall to the PTEC site. Given the location of the lighthouse at the tips of St Catherine s the delegates were able to see the relationship between the coast and the test site which was made easier by being able to see the other delegates on the boat trip at the centre of the PTEC zone. Delegates were informed about the issues associated with achieving an agreement to lease the seabed from the Crown Estate as well as understand the technical issues associated with connecting the test site to the local electrical gird including being able to point out the options for where the cable came ashore and the constraints and issues faced at these various locations. Discussions also took place concerning the potential conflicts with the local commercial fishing industry.

5 SUSTAINABLE MARINE ENERGY (SME) LTD Sustainable Marine Energy Ltd is a small tidal turbine developer based in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The company is developing a unique platform for mounting tidal turbines (and potentially monitoring equipment) which is anchored into position in the mid-water column where they can operate efficiently without posing a navigational hazard. The company will be conducting the first sea trials of a full scale device during 2014 and were happy to host a visit for Pro-Tide delegates to their new manufacturing facility. Following a presentation from Christoph Harwood, outlining the benefits of the SME design and their proposed development path, the MD, Jason Hayman showed delegates the construction process for the first platform. Whilst the steel frame is imported from mainland and the Schottel turbine from Germany, the composite buoyancy devices are manufactured on the Isle of Wight and much of the welding work is being undertaken by skilled local labour. A local company is also involved in the design and installation of the innovative anchoring system and deployment will be carried out by local firms. The photographs below show delegates inspecting the imported Schottel turbine and the unfinished steel frame of the platform. 5 Christoph Harwood from SME and members of Pro-Tide inspect one of the Schottel turbines waiting to be mounted on the Plato frame.

6 Jason Hayman from SME describes the Plato frame before the tidal turbines and buoyancy aids are mounted. Delegates learnt about the complex processes involved in developing and deploying tidal turbines and the long timescales that can be involved due to the need for design modifications and applications for marine licences. SME described their initial sea trial which will take place near to Yarmouth Harbour on the Isle of Wight. 6

7 APPENDIX 1 DELEGATE LIST, Name Organisation Country 1. Leo Van der Klip 2. Zjef Ambagts PZH 3. Paul Paulus RWS 4. Ilse Deurwaarder 5. Jacob van Berkel Entry 6. Ingrid de Kubber 7. Roeland Notelé Waterways and Seacanal 8. André Breukelaar RWS 7 9. Jim Fawcett Isle of Wight Council 10. Alexei Sentchev ULCO France 11. Francios Schmitt LOG France 12. Cleo Pandelaers IMDC 13. Katrin Goethals Jusbox 14. Vicki Jago Dover Harbour Board 15. Phil Horne Dover Harbour Board 16. Hans de Preter Waterways and Seacanal

8 Name Organisation Country 17. Ashley Curzon Isle of Wight Council 18. Elaine Hawkins Isle of Wight Council 19. Pieter Looijestijn 8

9 APPENDIX 2 DELEGATE LIST, Name Organisation Country 1. Jacob van Berkel Entry 2. André Breukelaar RWS 3. Ilse Deurwaarder 4. Jim Fawcett Isle of Wight Council 5. Leo Van der Klip 6. Ingrid de Kubber 7. Roeland Notelé Waterways and Seacanal 8. Cleo Pandelaers IMDC 9 9. Dave Parkes Dover Harbour Board