The global wave and tidal sector was estimated at £1.98 billion in 2008 and this forecast is expected to grow significantly by 2020.  Key to this will be the diversification of business activity by existing engineering and construction businesses.

Tidal resources in Northern Ireland have the potential to supply 12 percent of energy requirements in Northern Ireland.  It is important for businesses to exploit the opportunities that the deployment of marine technologies represents.

What will the session cover?

The workshop session will cover opportunities in marine, wave and tidal power. 

A greater dependence on wind, marine and tidal power coupled with locations offshore makes the subsea grid system around the coast of Ireland a viable commercial venture. 

Peter Jones of ABB & PT Technologies will give an insight into how the large-scale connection of renewable energy is creating new power challenges and innovative solutions for today’s electricity transmission companies.

This will be followed by Professor Trevor Whittaker who will detail the work of the Marine Energy Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, and other key projects in the field of coastal engineering.

A number of local businesses who are currently operating in this sector will also deliver a series of short presentations.  They will share their experiences on how they have achieved considerable success in both local and international markets. 

What are the business opportunities?

The primary areas of opportunity in this area are in civil engineering, development of mechanical systems, energy transmission and the operation and maintenance of marine turbines.  In particular, the areas below:

• Surveying and Planning including geological and oceanographic surveying as well as environmental assessment.
• Design including mechanical and electrical system design, control system design and project design.
• Manufacturing of power generation and transmission equipment; control equipment; component parts of marine turbines; and the construction and assembly of structures.
• Installation including onshore assembly; offshore construction including foundations, transport to offshore sites; and cable laying, including grid connection and management.
• Testing of prototypes, component parts and full-scale testing.
• Operation and Management including structural monitoring, reliability management, and performance evaluation.
• Decommissioning including disassembly offshore, transportation, disposal and refurbishment.

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