OES-Environmental distributes metadata forms (questionnaires) to solicit information from researchers around the world who are exploring the environmental effects of marine renewable energy. This page provides a description and contact information related to the research. Content is updated on an annual basis.

Marine Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (MREDS)

Status

Completed

Principle Investigator Contact Information

Name: Professor Jonathan Side

Email: j.c.side@hw.ac.uk

Name: Professor Stuart Gibb

Email: stuart.gibb@thurso.uhi.ac.uk

Description

MREDS is a major research programme led by ICIT Heriot–Watt University, under which marine renewable energy research opportunities are developed. The prime objective of MREDS is to seek ways of strengthening the marine renewables sector in Scotland and it covers 6 key themes:

  1. Export constraints, externalities and opportunities
  2. Petroleum and renewables
  3. Mitigation, minimisation and management of risk
  4. Hydrodynamics, moorings and foundations
  5. Environmental and ecological impacts
  6. Socio-economic values and responses

The overall goal of work package 5 is to determine the likely environmental impacts from marine energy convertors and propose mitigation measures, and methods of measurement/monitoring, for these.

Collaboration between ICIT/HWU and ERI/UHI will focus on developing an understanding of impacts on, and building research capacity in:

  • Coastal physical processes (led by Dr Rob Harris)
  • Hydrodynamics and water column processes (led by Dr David Woolfe)
  • Pelagic and benthic dynamics (led by Professor Stuart Gibb)
  • Ecosystem considerations and consequences (led by Professor Jonathan Side)

Further linked studies include the Total (Foundation and E&P Aberdeen) funded research on passive remote monitoring of diving birds and the Supergen Plus project (jointly with Queens University Belfast) to determine the “what, why and how” for environmental monitoring purposes.

Funding Source

Scottish Funding Council (Strategic Research Development Grant); Total Foundation, Total E & P Aberdeen

Location of Research

The research is linked with the Orkney based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in terms of optimising opportunities for further development of research capacity, linked to its unique wave and tidal test facilities.

Related Publications

Full details of all of these studies are available on request. Reports are also available through the project website.