Resourceful tools

6 July 2022



A new integrated marine data toolbox for developers of ocean energy devices has been developed to help reduce barriers and promote growth within the sector.


A new project funded by Ocean Energy Era-Net Cofund is supporting investment and growth in the wave, tidal and offshore wind energy sectors, through the creation of an integrated marine data toolbox. 

The RESOURCECODE toolbox consists of modelling and software tools and was made available via a new online platform in March 2022. The project consortium is led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and includes Ifremer, Ocean Data Lab, BlueWise Marine, Centrale Nantes, University College Dublin, University of Edinburgh and INNOSEA.

Matthew Storey, Project Manager at EMEC, said: “The RESOURCECODE project brought together an international consortium of businesses and marine renewable energy test sites supported by established academic partners, which blended the necessary expertise for the project. EMEC has enjoyed leading on this project and working in partnership to develop this new marine data toolbox, which will deliver significant benefits for the energy sector.”

Objectives

Resource data in a raw format has limited value to the industry. This new suite of tools can review, quality control and interpret raw data so that benefits can be maximised.

The toolbox integrates a high-resolution hindcast dataset and analysis tools in an online platform enabling easy access and analysis. It has been created using 27 years of hindcast wave data from across Northwest Europe. The database will deliver underpinning data at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution from the South of the Bay of Biscay up to the North of Scotland, with the opportunity to expand this further beyond the project.

The project has three objectives:

  • Resource Model Expansion: Production of a comprehensive hindcast database of high-resolution ocean energy resource parameters for European waters (extending from the North of Scotland to Bay of Biscay) validated against the industrial test sites datasets and satellite data.
  • Data Analytics: Advance a suite of tools (from Technology Readiness Level 4-8) to support ocean energy analytics, which will underpin design and operational decisions for marine renewable energy deployments.
  • Online Platform: Development of an online platform through which the services described above will be accessed, applied and exploited by test facilities, the supply chain and renewable technologies undertaking pre-commercial demonstration.

Integrated solution

Key outcomes and benefits of the RESOURCECODE project will include:

  • Open source – Public access to an extensive wave dataset for Northwest Europe.
  • Cost – Reduce design and development cost for the marine renewable sector. It will help to lower the cost of production of ocean energy through providing technology and project developers, regulators and other stakeholders with data that comes at higher spatial resolution, increased spatial coverage, with increased usability and transparency.
  • Reliability – Reduce uncertainty in expected environmental conditions and de-risk investment in future technology designs. This will enable better industrial decision making around device design, energy farm system topologies and planning, component procurement and ongoing operations and maintenance strategies.
  • Quality – Provide reliable, traceable, validated data to support high calibre marine engineering development.
  • Knowledge – Bringing together academic expertise, research test centres and industry leaders.

The project consortium says that the project is an integrated solution dedicated to marine renewable energy but is also applicable to a broader range of projects such as offshore wind. A product of this type is currently unavailable to the marine renewable energy sector. It is anticipated that it will help drive further innovation and the associated long-term commercial, industrial and societal impact.

“We are delighted to launch the RESOUCECODE toolbox, which will enable easy access to the data, while the extended implemented open-source library will allow online analysis dedicated to refined resource assessment and offshore energy converters design and optimisation,” Nicolas Raillard, Researcher at Ifremer said. “We are confident that the 27-year dataset, combined with the RESOURCECODE marine data toolbox will provide the most adapted and integrated solution for ocean renewable energy developers.”

Orbital Marine Power O2 tidal turbine in Kirkwall Bay (Credit Colin Keldie) 



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