Results: Browse all publications

• A final report describing prediction methodology and level of accuracy improvement achieved
• Costs benefits evaluation of different degrees of modelling detail and associated reduction in forecast error
• Modelling source code

1. Executive Summary
2. Project Manager's Report
3. Business Case Update
4. Progress Against Budget
5. Bank account
6. Successful Delivery Reward Criteria (SDRC)
7. Learning Outcomes
8. Intellectual Property Right (IPR)
9. Risk Management
10. Consistency With Full Submission

• Offshore Wind
  • Is a proven technology that is being deployed commercially with a credible path to becoming competitive with the lowest cost low carbon technologies
  • The focus for technology development is now on – improving yields, reducing capital & operational costs and achieving wider deployment
  • A stable policy and funding environment into the medium term would accelerate the achievement of energy cost competitiveness
• Tidal Stream Energy
  • Is at a much earlier stage in the innovation chain
  • Its innovation needs are known and the challenge is one of how to put the component parts together in deployable systems rather than having to reinvent the technology
  • MeyGen’s Inner Sound project, the world’s first tidal stream array is pivotal to advancing the technology and developing supply chain capability

This document is the final report for the project titled 'Assessment of the Significance of Changes to the Inshore Wave Regime as a consequence of an Offshore Wind Array'.

Offshore windfarm (OWF) development within the UK is presently in the Second Round of licensing by Defra through FEPA (1985). Many of the Round One licences have already been granted, and of these, the development on Scroby Sands was one of the first. More significantly, Scroby Sands is amongst the few OWFs situated in a dynamic sedimentary environment. It is also close to a coastline which is vulnerable to erosion and which has seen numerous different coastal protection schemes in recent years. Development of the OWF at this site was started in autumn 2003, and electricity production commenced in December 2004.

This report details work undertaken only under contract AE1227. It was anticipated that this work would provide evidence-based research from which to refine any requirements for monitoring of waves that have been included within licence conditions of Round One developments, and that could be included within those conditions for Round Two developments.

The sensitivity analysis enabled by the modelling showed that for a simplistic flat seabed, wave interference patterns were most pronounced for waves approaching the monopile array obliquely, at an angle of 35 degrees. For more realistic bathymetry, this angle was decreased, but more significant was the maximum reduction in wave height from 5% (flat seabed) to 2% (realistic bathymetry). Thus, effects of wave refraction in shallow water are greater than those of monopile-related wave diffraction and interference. Wave refraction in shallow water acts to reduce any effect of the monopiles upon waves.

The quantitative value of predicted change to wave height as a result of monopile arrays, of 2%, is in agreement with those estimates presented as part of the Environmental Statements for other more recent windfarms. It has not been possible to detect this small change using the presently available measurement and analysis techniques afforded by X-band radar. It is therefore concluded that wave diffraction and interference effects arising from monopile arrays are negligible. By inference, any effect on coastal erosion is therefore also likely to be negligible.

1. Scientific Objectives
2. Summary of Success (Against Scientific Objectives)
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
7. Implications & Significance
8. Future Research
9. Resulting Actions
10. References

UKERC have submitted a response to the BEIS call for evidence on the future for small-scale low-carbon generation. This consultation sought to identify the role that small-scale low-carbon generation can play in the UK shift to clean growth by further understanding:

• The challenges and opportunities from small-scale low-carbon generation in contributing to government's objectives for clean, secure, affordable and flexible power; and
• The role for government and the private sector in overcoming these challenges and realising these opportunities.

In our submission we responded to the individual points raised in the call, drawing on two streams of work undertaken as part of the UKERC research programme. The first stream concerns community energy, drawing primarily on data from the UKERC Financing Community Energy project. This project has collected and analysed data from a number of sources:

• Quantitative data gathered as part of a UK-wide survey of community energy finance and business models. This dataset covers 145 community energy projects run by 48 different community energy organisations.
• Qualitative data on community energy organisations' suggestions for changes in public policy and industry practice, and their plans for the future, gathered as part of the same UK-wide survey.
• Further qualitative data on community energy organisations' views on pathways to future decentralised energy business models, gathered at workshops held as part of the Manchester Mayor's Green Summit process, and the Community Energy England annual conference 2018.
• A wide range of other data and literature, including access to the dataset collected for Community Energy England's 2017 State of the Sector Survey, covering 220 community energy organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The second stream draws on a number of recent UKERC publications on electricity systems and networks :

• Developing low carbon networks for a low-carbon future
• Security of electricity supply in a low-carbon Britain
• The Costs and Impacts of Intermittency
• Delivering a highly distributed electricity system: Technical, regulatory and policy challenges.

This document is the final report for the project titled 'Barriers to Commissioning Renewable Energy Projects'.

In June 2005 Land Use Consultants, in association with IT Power, were commissioned by Future Energy Solutions on behalf of the Renewables Advisory Board (RAB) to undertake research into factors delaying the commissioning of renewable energy projects in the post-planning approval phase. The research will inform future policy and practice necessary to meet the Government's target of 10% of our electricity needs from renewable sources by 2010.

The research focuses on barriers to commissioning onshore wind projects, given the potential for this resource to contribute to meeting the 2010 target. It also addresses offshore wind, biomass and hydro projects.

As per the brief set for the research, the methodology centred on statistical analysis to understand the extent of delays, and consultation with industry representatives to understand the causes of these delays. Twenty-four renewable energy developers and related organisations and eight financial institutions contributed to the research either by returning questionnaires or taking part in telephone interviews or focus groups, during the period June to September 2005. Questionnaire returns represent 58% of total approved megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity.

1. Introduction
2. Objectives and methodology
3. Delays in the post-planning period: the scale of the problem
4. Factors delaying commissioning of onshore wind schemes
5. Factors delaying commissioning of offshore wind schemes
6. Factors delaying commissioning of hydro schemes
7. Factors delaying commissioning of biomass schemes
8. Investor feedback summary
9. Future trends & prospects
10. Recommendations

This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.

Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.

Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.

While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.

1. Review Existing Tower and Foundation Designs
2. Welding Technologies
3. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
4. Risk Based Life-Management (RBLM)
5. Casting Technology and Design Optimisation
6. Guidelines for Redesign

The Code for Sustainable Homes has been developed to enable a step change in sustainable building practice for new homes. It has been prepared by the Government in close working consultation with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), and through consultation with a Senior Steering Group consisting of Government, industry and NGO representatives.

The Code is intended as a single national standard to guide industry in the design and construction of sustainable homes. It is a means of driving continuous improvement, greater innovation and exemplary achievement in sustainable home building.

The Code will complement the system of Energy Performance Certificates which is being introduced in June 2007 under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The EPBD will require that all new homes (and in due course other homes, when they are sold or leased) have an Energy Performance Certificate providing key information about the energy efficiency/carbon performance of the home. Energy assessment under the Code will use the same calculation methodology therefore avoiding the need for duplication.

This document is divided into the following sections:

1. What is the code for sustainable homes?
2. How does the code work?
3. Summary of code benefits
4. Code standards
5. Practical Examples

The routine provision of meaningful benefits to communities hosting wind power projects is likely to be a significant factor in sustaining public support and delivering significant rates of wind power development.

In direct contrast to the UK where community benefits typically rely on voluntary cash contributions to a community fund from the project developer, the evidence from Spain, Denmark and Germany indicates that significant local benefits are effectively built into the fabric of all wind power projects.

The routine benefits typically take the form of the local tax payments, jobs and economic benefits form regional manufacturing, and for Denmark and Germany, opportunities for local ownership. In these leading EU countries for wind power development, which have enjoyed hard higher rates of wind power development, the concept of a voluntary contribution or a community fund is unfamiliar; benefits are already accruing without the need for developers to volunteer additional payments.

1. Introduction
2. Study Objectives
3. Defining community and benefit
4. Study Methodology
5. The UK experience
6. 1. Germany
   2. Denmark
   3. Spain
   4. Ireland
7. Comparing the UK and leading EU countries
8. Analysis and conclusions
9. Recommendations to the Renewables Advisory Board
10. References

• The application of holistic relational models has been applied for the first time in wind turbines across a wide dataset.This capability shows promise to codify expert knowledge but would require further development and validation.
• The use of prognostic damage models provides additional information to support inspection and maintenance optimisation. However, there is a need to build more experience with these models.
• The introduction of SCADA fault algorithms into the system reflects current thinking in wind turbine fleets, and the models produced represent advanced examples of what can be achieved. These real time algorithms can be implemented in the control system or a data historian.

1. Electricity costs need to be competitive with current (2010) onshore wind costs by 2020 and with conventional generation by 2050. This is illustrated in the Offshore Wind roadmap in Appendix D,
2. Increased yields: annual offshore farm availability to be increased to 97%-98% or better (currently 80% to 90%),
3. Reduce technical uncertainties to allow farms to be financed in a manner, and at costs, equivalent to onshore wind today.

1. This project has provided the ETI with valuable data on TLP floating foundation design and cost to inform the ETI Offshore Wind programme’s future work (2010 to 2015):
2. The Turbine and TLP are not afully integrated system. In the next phase (if taken forward), further work would need to be done on modelling the interactions between waves, TLP, the tower and the nacelle. Existing commercial software will need to be enhanced to meet this need.Currentcommercial software models support structures fixed to the seabed / ground.

1. Electricity costs need to be competitive with current (2010) onshore wind costs by 2020 and with conventional generation by 2050,
2. Increased yields: annual offshore farm availability to be increased to 97%-98% or better,
3. Reduce technical uncertainties to allow farms to be financed in a manner, and at costs, equivalent to onshore wind today.

• This project has provided the ETI with valuable data on TLP floating foundation design and cost. This information has helped shape the next stage of the ETI Offshore Wind programme.
li>Our analysis has concluded that the cost of energy from the deep water high wind sites is competitive with that of the typical Round 3 sites.
• Further optimisation of the TLP floating foundation design could further improve energy costs.

This report describes the results of the DTI-supported project Design & Manufacture of Radar Absorbent Wind Turbine Blades; a collaborative project between QinetiQ Ltd. and NOI (Scotland) Ltd. The aims of the project were threefold:

In summary, the study has shown that it is possible to modify all materials regions of the NOI 34m blade to create RAM, and this can be done with little or no degradation in structural properties. The predicted benefits in terms of reduced detection by non-Doppler radar and ATC radars are seen to be extremely encouraging.

However, predictive models can never fully represent reality, and there are factors that are difficult to accurately model, such as blade twist and bend. In light of this, it is recommended that a full practical demonstration of a stealthy turbine should be performed. All stakeholders (developers, manufacturers and planning objectors) will then be able to quantify the benefits of RCS reduction through the use of RAM.

• Design, manufacture and test blades that are the optimum size for the next generation of large offshore wind turbines (>8MW and ideally 10MW);
• Verify the blade performance predicted by the models developed at the design stage;
• Be in a position to supply realistic numbers of blades into First-of-A-Kind small arrays of the target turbines by end 2014 and demonstrate a plan thereafter to scale up the business operation to serve the market.

The objectives for this project are:

This project aims to demonstrate the ability to monitor wind turbine health using inherently low cost and robust instrumentation, through the development and installation of a trial system on land-based wind turbines, and reviewing and analysing the data over a period of up to a year.

• With technology and supply chain development there is a clear and credible trajectory to delivering commercial offshore wind farms
• Floating Wind hasthe potential to be a cost-effective, secure and safe low-carbon energy source which could deliver a levelised cost of energy of less than £85/MWh from the mid-2020s
• To deliver improved costs, offshore wind needs access to good quality wind resource close enough to shore and the onshore grid system so that transmission costs are minimised and operations/maintenance costs reduced
• Floating technology can provide access to high quality wind resources relatively close to the UK shoreline and in the proximity of population centres
• In water depths less than 30m fixed foundations will be the prime solution, in water depths over 50m floating foundations provide the lowest cost solution – a mix of these technologies is likely to offer the lowest cost pathway to deliver large scale deployment in the UK
• UK wind resources are abundant and exploitable – and already supplied 9.4% of the UK’s electricity needs in 2014
• The UK has the world’s highest offshore wind capacity with over 4GW installed, from over 1100 turbines, average power rating 3.4MW. A further 1.4GW is in construction, 4.8GW has planning permission and the world’s largest in-service offshore wind farm is in the outer Thames Estuary

• Offshore Wind has a significant role to play in the UK 2050 energy mix
  • Provides proven capability if other technology deployment is constrained
• Potential to deliver costs competitive with lowest cost form of low carbon generation
• Deployment of 8 to 16 GW of floating wind (if 2050 total is 40GW) could make economic sense for the UK
• The larger the UK deployment of offshore wind, the more important floating wind will become

This report was produced by the UK Energy Research Centre’s (UKERC) Technology and Policy Assessment (TPA) function.

The primary objective of the TPA, reflected in this report, is to provide a thorough review of the current state of knowledge. New research, such as modelling or primary data gathering may be carried out when essential. It also aims to explain its findings in a way that is accessible to non-technical readers and is useful to policymakers.

1. Electricity costs need to be competitive with current (2010) onshore wind costs by 2020 and with conventional generation by 2050,
2. Increased yields: annual offshore farm availability to be increased to 97%-98% or better,
3. Reduce technical uncertainties to allow farms to be financed in a manner, and at costs, equivalent to onshore wind today.

• The consortium indentified that sufficient improvements could be made through technology innovation to deliver energy costs that are comparable with current (2010) onshore wind costs: one of ETI’s objectives for this programme.
• This involves innovation in rotor aerodynamics, rotor diameter, drive train technologies and electrical systems.
• The consortium also indentified that theoptimum turbine size for offshore is significantly larger than the current ‘state of the art’.

The North West of England is blessed with wind as a resource which could be used to generate electricity for small discrete locations. A significant number of isolated communities exist off the normal supply grid, in Cumbria and the Pennines for example, where customised small wind turbines would sit well. A number of small companies exist in the region for the design, manufacture and installation of small wind turbines (up to 20kW generating capacity). In April 2010 Government Feed In Tariffs, whereby people who install small scale renewable devices receive payment for any electricity they generate, will come into force making small wind schemes more attractive and economically viable. By doing this the government hopes to meet its ambitious target of generating 2% of UK electricity consumption by 2020 from small scale renewable devices. This should increase the size of the market for small wind turbines and present significant commercial opportunities for any businesses operating in the field.

This project contributed towards the further development of the University of Central Lancashire's Wind Energy Engineering Research Group (Winergy) and was aimed at stimulating growth for small wind turbine research and commerce in the North West region. The project removed some outstanding technical barriers for the take-off of innovative small wind turbine technologies and its most notable contribution is the concept and methodology of site specific design and integration of small wind turbine systems for low wind speed onshore sites. With this innovative technology it is possible to double the energy production achieved by small wind turbines.

As a direct result of this project two new short industrial training courses, in small wind energy systems and small wind turbine applications, will start in 2010 at UCLan, and an SME wind turbine spin-off company is planned within the next three years. It also helped Dr Liu and his team to obtain further funding (£96550) from UCLan for facilities and research which will be of great use to industrial partners.

Microgeneration in individual homes has been the subject of increasing policy and industry attention in recent years. Although there are only around 100,000 microgeneration installations in the UK, the Energy Saving Trust believes that microgeneration could supply 30-40% of UK electricity demand by 2050 (Energy Saving Trust, 2005b). If adopted by large numbers of households in this way, microgeneration could bring about fundamental change to our energy system. Many consumers would become energy producers, leading to a breakdown of the traditional distinction between energy supply and demand. Established regulatory frameworks and energy infrastructures could need to change radically to deal with a fundamental decentralisation of power and control.

This project investigated how microgeneration might be deployed in the UK and its possible implications for domestic consumers, energy companies and the energy system as a whole. Working closely with industry and government it identified technical, regulatory and institutional changes that might stimulate the market uptake of microgeneration technologies. The aims of the project were set out in the original proposal. The main objective of the research is: to work with industry and government to help tackle the main challenges associated with microgeneration. Its more specific aims were:

These aims and objectives have largely been fulfilled by the project. A number of challenges affected the fulfilment of the objectives. Section 7 of the End of Award Report Form provides further details of these and their impact on the project.

1. Background
2. Objectives
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Activites
6. Outputs
7. Impacts
8. Future Research Priorities
9. References

• Appendix 1 - Schematic of main project activities and outputs
• Appendix 2 - Members of the Project Advisory Group
• Appendix 3 - List of interviewees
• Appendix 4 - Full list of project outcomes

The aim of this project was to understand how microgeneration might be deployed, and to explore policies to support investment by consumers and energy companies. The research was undertaken by an interdisciplinary team drawn from three universities: University of Sussex, University of Southampton and Imperial College. It was carried out in parallel with significant policy developments, notably the government Microgeneration Strategy, the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act and the wider Energy Review.

The research found that it was important for policy makers support a diversity of routes to microgeneration deployment, with incentives for both householders and energy companies. The project analysed three different models of microgeneration deployment to explore the possibilities and implications. This included 'Plug & Play' deployment by individual consumers wishing to assert their independence from established suppliers; 'Company Driven' deployment by incumbent energy companies that shift their focus towards the delivery of energy services rather than energy supply; and 'Community Microgrid' deployment as part of decentralised microgrids.

There are significant opportunities to build microgeneration into new construction developments. The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act is important since it encourages local authorities to set targets for this. In addition, the research found that it will be desirable to include flexible service areas and space (e.g. as cellars) in new buildings so that future developments in micro-generation and home energy automation can be accommodated. If sustainable visions for larger developments such as Thames Gateway are to be realised, strong intervention is likely to be required by government. This is because such developments are substantially different from the UK's current energy system. In the absence of strong intervention, an opportunity for the implementation of more pervasive local energy systems based on Community Microgrid models linked to new district heating networks could be lost. Energy regulation has a role to play here too. The Registered Power Zone scheme developed by the regulator, Ofgem allows electricity network companies to experiment with new network concepts and recover costs from consumers. So far, the rules governing this scheme have proved to be too restrictive to rebuild capacity for innovation with the electricity network companies.

Overall, the research showed that microgeneration can make a potentially powerful contribution to a sustainable energy future - in terms of carbon reductions and wider social impacts. Microgeneration can be both a result of ongoing changes in existing energy systems and the cause of potentially radical change. Our research has also underlined the interdependence of technical, institutional and social factors that inhibit or enable the diffusion of sustainable technologies. Technically, energy networks will have to be able to cope with two-way flows. Policies, regulations and institutions will need to change and to acknowledge that the distinction between energy supply and demand is not as sharp for micro-generators. Finally, consumers could have a new position in the energy system - whether as hosts of microgeneration installed by company or as 'co-providers' of their own energy services.

Low or zero carbon energy sources are increasingly being installed in buildings, e.g. small scale and micro CHP units, photovoltaic panels and building mounted wind generators. The development of performance standards and suitable guidance on satisfactory provisions, on e.g. structural measures, weatherproofing and location is needed, also compliance with ADL and any relevant provisions of the forthcoming Electrical AD. This desk study will also take account of the Energy White Paper and the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

The overall aim of this project is to develop suitable performance standards and guidance for the installation of low or zero carbon energy sources in buildings.

It is proposed to include a specified list of low or zero carbon energy sources as alternatives to energy conservation and energy efficiency measures in order to achieve target carbon emissions for different building types. The extent to which LZC energy sources can contribute to achieving the carbon emissions target should be limited to a given level or percentage.

Since the proposal is to include LZC energy sources as an alternative to further energy conservation or energy efficiency measures there is no strict requirement to calculate the cost effectiveness of each for the purposes of regulatory impact assessment. However, an assessment of cost effectiveness has been undertaken to provide ODPM with:

The assessment of cost effectiveness shows that few LZC technology/application cases achieve a positive NPV and hence none are recommended to be considered for mandatory inclusion.

There is increasing concern that future supply of some lesser known critical metals will not be sufficient to meet rising demand in the low-carbon technology sector. A rising global population, significant economic growth in the developing world, and increasing technological sophistication have all contributed to a surge in demand for a broad range of metal resources. In the future, this trend is expected to continue as the growth in low-carbon technologies compounds these other drivers of demand. This report examines the issues surrounding future supply and demand for critical metals - including Cobalt, Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Lithium, Platinum, Selenium, Silver, Tellurium, and Rare earth Metals.

The Merlin Wind Turbine Installation System has been designed and patented by The Engineering Business Ltd (EB). This project, phase 1 of the development, comprises a feasibility study carried out by EB, and part funded by the DTI with the key objective of 'Investigating the technical and economical viability of the Merlin system as an alternative technique for installing offshore wind turbines'.

This is the final report of the project, encompassing all project activities completed by EB to determine the fundamental engineering principles and the economics to support the system design.

The feasibility study concludes overall that:

1. Introduction
2. Turbine Installation Vessel (TIV) Requirements
3. Conventional Installation Principles
4. The Merlin Installation System Concept
5. Development Challenges
6. Merlin Installation System Specifications
7. Offshore Operations
8. Investigation of Dynamic Forces
9. Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
10. Turbine to Foundation Interfaces
11. Economics of Merlin
12. Merlin Installation System SWOT Analysis
13. Summary of Conclusions

• Appendix A - Extracts from Melbourne Marine Services Assessment of Operability and Stability
• Appendix B - FEA of Merlin wind turbine tower

The key findings of this report are:

1. Introduction
2. Creating sustainable settlements and sustainable communities
3. Focusing on Outcomes
4. The Evaluation Framework
5. Applying the Framework
6. Lessons for promoting sustainability in settlements
7. Delivering Sustainability: Processes and Procedures
8. Conclusions and Recommendations

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ('the ODPM') has commissioned this research into Planning for Renewable Energy as part of its New Horizons research programme. The New Horizons programme aims to introduce new research ideas, develop innovative, cross-cutting approaches to research and offer a forward-thinking perspective on medium- to long-term policy issues pertaining to the ODPM.

The specific objectives of the Planning for Renewable Energy research have been:

The research programme was devised in May 2002 and the research was conducted over the course of eleven months, commencing in October 2002.

The research is especially timely because the results are able to inform the revision of Planning Policy Guidance 22 (renewable energy) and the accompanying documentation for the new Planning Policy Statement 22 (renewable energy). The research has also been able to take account of the Energy White Paper, Our Energy Future, Creating a Low Carbon Economy (2003) and The Sustainable communities Plan (2003), both of which were published during the course of the project.

Perhaps the single most important concluding remark for ODPM is to point out that its extensive responsibilities for the built environment mean that it cannot avoid a significant role in the development of policies on renewables over the course of the next five to ten years. Indeed, given the potentially vital role of the linkages between planning, regeneration and governance, and the ODPM's responsibilities across these areas, the Department could reasonably be considered to be the most important in helping the country to become a low carbon economy

1. Introduction
2. Context of the research
3. The planning system and renewable energy
4. Community renewables and urban regeneration
5. Governance of renewable energy
6. Final conclusions and recommendations

• Introduction to ETI and ESME, ETI’s modelling tool integrating power, heat, transport and infrastructure providing national / regional system designs
• Energy System Scenarios
• Offshore Wind
• Water Depth
• Wind Resource and Water Depth Compared
• Offshore Wind Turbines
• What do we use for Offshore Wind today?
• Foundation Types
• Floating Wind
  • Tension Leg Platform
  • Engineering Design
  • Cost Study - CAPEX
  • LCoE Forecast
• Conclusions
  • Offshore Wind has a significant role to play in the UK 2050 energy mix
  • With a range of Fixed and Floating foundations, UK can optimise the offshorefleet LCoE
  • Floating Wind has potential to deliver costs at less than £85/MWh from mid-2020s, and further significant cost reduction afterwards
  • Further Work
    • Demonstration at full-scale
    • Geographical distribution and cost optimisation
    • Establish cost of energy potential for other floating technologies

• Design, construct and install a floating system demonstrator by late 2015 / early 2016 (using an existing installation vessel at a near shore and high wind (up to around 10 m/s) site with water depth between 60-100m and a tidal range and wave profile typical of the UK West coast;
• Operate the system for a period of at least two years (to the end of 2017) to:
  • Demonstrate that the system can operate with high yield and be maintained without the need for ETI to support the construction of a new installation vessel;
  • Verify the system technical and economic performance predicted by the system models developed at the design stage;
• Pull forward commercialisation of the enabling technologies to deploy the abundant near shore, 60-100m water depth, and high wind speed resources in the UK by at least 3 years;
• Operate the system for up to a further 8 years, to provide a platform for further developments and revenue from electricity generation

• A LCOE in 2020 in the range of £100/MWhto £110/MWh can be achieved across most of site conditions encountered in commercially exploitable UK waters.
• Cost-effective access to high-wind-speed sites is enabled, thereby driving down the levelised cost of energy below £100/MWh at these sites.
• High-wind-speed sites yield the lowest LCOE, even after the increased capital expenditure (CAPEX) associated with accessing such sites is considered.
• The LCOE shows little variation across the range of conditions encountered in commercially exploitable UK waters.
• This LCOE is forecast to drop by over half by 2050 in today’s currency, due to expected learning curves and economies of scale achieved in the PelaStar system when paired with larger (10 MW) wind turbines.

The objectives for this project are:

This project is aimed at developing a complete fibre optic structural monitoring system for the wind turbine blades and hub structure.

The proposed system will enable active monitoring of operational loads and structural condition of these parts during operation. The proposed system will have significant operational benefits for the developers and users of utility scale wind turbines including;

Against a policy background set principally by the Energy White Paper 2003 and the Sustainable Communities Plan 2003, Brook Lyndhurst's research work on "Planning for Renewable Energy" approached the issue of renewable energy from three perspectives:

The particular objectives of the research were:

Our research suggests that the issue(s) of renewable energy is, in general, restricted to a small but enthusiastic minority of players in regional and local government. For the mainstream practitioner in land-use planning and urban regeneration, energy issues generally, and renewable energy issues in particular, have a low priority.

Those practitioners with responsibility for renewables, while making some headway in forging links with regional planners, appear to operate discretely from regeneration practitioners at all levels and planners at the local level. As a result, no "critical mass" of concern has come about, so there has been no significant impetus for the development of a "community of interest" encompassing planning, regeneration and renewable energy personnel, at both regional and local levels.

In the longer term, however, it would seem that if the UK is to achieve truly dramatic reductions in its emissions of carbon dioxide (as envisaged, most obviously, by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution), then a more radical and far-reaching programme of change will be required.

This document is an article titled 'QinetiQ's ZephIR to assess wind resource at world's deepest offshore wind farm'.

QinetiQ's highly accurate wind sensing tool, the ZephIR LiDAR, has been selected to assess the wind resource for the Beatrice wind farm demonstrator project in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. ZephIR, which provides developers with a clear picture of wind flow and behaviour at a particular site, can help to ensure optimal siting of wind farms and assess operational turbine performance.

The Beatrice demonstrator project is being developed by Talisman Energy and its co-venturer Scottish and Southern Energy, and will install two 5 megawatt wind turbines in 45 metres of water in Talisman's Beatrice field, 23 kilometres off the east cost of Scotland. It is part of the European DOWNVInD research and technology development programme, sponsored by the European Commission, the DTI and the Scottish Executive.

The ZephIR system will first undergo a series of evaluation and certification tests to ensure the accuracy of its wind measurements. These tests will be conducted by the German company Windtest at two sites, the Brunsbüttel test facility in western Germany and the FINO-1 platform in the North Sea off the German coast.

The following submission is preceded by a tabled summary of the current state of energy research and development and deployment in the UK, technology by technology. This is used as the basis for commentary on the technology potential of:

• Wind
• Photovoltaics
• Hydrogen and fuel cells
• Marine renewables
• Bioenergy
• Groundsource heat pumps
• Microgeneration
• Intelligent grid management
• Energy storage Finally,

UKERC offers its views on the research funding landscape. Recommendations are highlighted in bold.

Energy System Demonstrators are physical demonstrations testing new technologies for low-carbon energy infrastructure.

A review of energy systems demonstrator projects in the UK was undertaken for UKERC by the Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU) at the University of Strathclyde. The review encompassed 119 demonstrators and consisted of two phases: 1) the identification of demonstrator projects and 2) an analysis of projects and their outcomes.

Energy demonstrators

The review defined an energy system demonstrator as "the deployment and testing of more than one technology type that could underpin the operation of a low-carbon energy infrastructure in the future". Only demonstrators that post-date the 2008 Climate Change Act were included and that included a physical demonstration at one or more UK sites. 119 projects were identified that met the search criteria.

There were two phases of review activity. Phase 1 involved identification and documentation of demonstration projects, involving a systematic search to identify and record the details of projects. Phase 2 was a review of project outcomes and outputs, particularly end-of-project evaluations, covering technical, economic and social outcomes where available.

The review outputs (available here) are a final report summarising the findings, 119 demonstrator project summaries (the Phase 1 reports), 119 demonstrator output analyses (the Phase 2 reports) and a GIS (Geographic Information System) map and database showing the locations and project details of the demonstrators.

The final report, attendant project summaries and GIS data are intended to provide policy makers and funding bodies with an overview of the existing demonstrator "landscape", enabling decisions on future demonstrator calls and the focus of those calls to be made with a clearer knowledge of what has already been done.

Project files

• Access the demonstrators GIS map here.
• Access the Phase 1 summaries here.
• Access the Phase 2 summaries here.

Over the last decade, the development of Offshore Wind Farms (OWF) has received significant attention. In March 2002, a FEPA licence was granted for the development of the first UK OWF, within coastal waters, at Scroby Sands, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. This site was regarded at the time as the worst-case scenario in terms of potential impacts on coastal processes, involving the emplacement of 30 turbines situated upon monopile foundations 4.2 m in diameter in an environment with fast tidal currents and mobile bed sediments. During this licensing process, two environmental issues arose of major potential importance to the development of the adjacent inshore region, namely:

A programme of research and monitoring was undertaken at the Scroby Sands OWF, to observe, measure and quantify potential impacts of OWFs on coastal processes. This was achieved by a series of seabed surveys (side-scan sonar, swathe bathymetry) and deployment of seabed landers (Cefas 'MiniLanders') before, during and after construction of the OWF. These have been used to provide evidence of changes in seabed bathymetry, bedforms, currents, waves and suspended sediment concentrations that may lead to disturbance of sedimentary environments or sediment transport pathways.

One of the main aims of this work was to assist in the creation of a generic framework for use by both regulators and developers in assessing coastal processes issues within the EIA process and relating to any consequent FEPA licence conditions, particularly those related to monitoring.

The recommendations of this report are:

1. Background
2. Survey Methods
3. Results
4. Analysis
5. Conclusions
6. References
7. Acknowledgements

This documents is an article on 'Seeing the light - Development programme announced for SeaZephIR Laser Anemometer'.

QinetiQ, together with npower renewables, Trinity House Lighthouse Service, and with funding from the DTI, has announced a major new collaborative project to develop its buoy-mounted LIDAR anemometry system, known as SeaZephIR.

The project aims to turn an established technology - light detection and ranging (LIDAR) - into an exciting and viable new solution to measure wind for the optimal siting of offshore wind farms.

SeaZephIR is a derivation of QinetiQ's land-based ZephIR system which has been trialled successfully in the UK and in Denmark. Designed to be a floating laser anemometer, the SeaZephIR system will help to ensure the optimal siting of offshore wind farms and positioning of the wind turbines, both of which require a thorough understanding of local wind behaviour.

Mounted on a floating buoy, SeaZephIR reduces the requirement to install more expensive, fixed meteorology mast. The system can operate independently offshore for long periods, and can be swiftly redeployed. It is anticipated that the SeaZephIR system will bring both increased flexibility and cost-savings to the rapidly growing offshore renewables industry.

The project team will be led by QinetiQ, with Trinity House Lighthouse Service providing the buoy, supporting systems, and all communications and maintenance support. Further to its financial support, npower renewables will also provide expertise in offshore wind measurements, and data from its fixed offshore meteorology masts which will be used for validation purposes.

This document is a summary for the project titled 'Sustainability Energy Infrastructure and Supply Technologies - Offshore HVDC Grids'.

In order for the UK to meet its ambitious targets for energy production from renewable sources (10% of electricity by 2010, 15% by 2020) it needs to expand its capacity to generate all forms of renewable energy and the largest proportion of this is expected to come from wind. The UK currently generates more energy than any other country in the world from wind (700MW) and the third stage of the UK Governments wind energy plan is expected to deliver another 25GW by 2020.

This project involved carrying out a critical assessment of prior and developing technology in the field, it also involved developing a mathematical and software model of an off-shore wind farm connected to shore by a HVDC grid.

This project was carried out in collaboration with TNEI, who produce a commonly used software tool for utility companies, and it has helped expand their capability into HVDC grids. This puts the company in an ideal place to capitalize on what is an extremely fast growing market both in the UK and internationally. A total of £4.88m funding has been obtained, from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Northern Wind Innovation Programme (in partnership with Siemens T&D), for follow on projects. It was only possible to obtain this funding because of the initial funding for this project from the Joule centre.

This report aims to understand and quantify these impacts, and therefore addresses the question ‘What is the evidence on the impacts and costs of intermittent generation on the British electricity network, and how are these costs assigned?’ It is based on a review of over 200 international studies.

It argues that, since its emergence in the UK in the late 1990s, community energy has grown through finding opportunities for smaller scale, decentralised energy activities in the UKs highly centralised energy system. The combination of development of renewable energy technologies, and the launch of the governments Feed-In Tariff Scheme (FITS) in 2010, produced a boom in the sector, especially around solar electricity generation.

Recent cuts to FITS rates and other policy changes place community energy at a crossroads. Some renewables activity will continue, but groups are exploring a wide range of activities, partnerships, and business models. We are engaging with the sector around outputs from our research, which include a survey and case studies, to co-develop recommendations and pathways for the future.

This document is the final report for the project titled 'The Feasibility of Building-Mounted/Integrated Wind Turbines (BUWTs): Achieving their potential for carbon emission reductions'.

The energy generation potential and technical feasibility of siting wind turbines in the built environment have been assessed. The study includes various configurations of Building Mounted/Integrated Wind Turbines (BUWTs), considered to be largely but not necessarily exclusively in urban areas: from turbines situated next to buildings, through turbines mounted on buildings, to turbines fully integrated into the building fabric.

It is concluded that wind energy could make a significant contribution to energy requirements in the built environment and that a more detailed evaluation of the resource is justified. In particular, through a combination of new-build with specifically designed wind energy devices and retrofitting of (preferably certified) turbines on existing buildings, it is estimated that the aggregated annual energy production by 2020 from wind turbines in the built environment could be in the range 1.7-5.0 TWh (dependent on the distribution of installations with respect to optimal wind speed) resulting in annual carbon dioxide savings in the range 0.75-2.2 Mt CO₂. These figures represent between 1.5%-4.5% of the UK domestic sector electricity demand in 2000.

This remains an underdeveloped area of technology with potential for the UK to establish considerable, world-leading technical expertise, building on existing strengths in the small wind turbine market and offering good job creation opportunities.

Section 1 of this report briefly reviews the UK wind energy resource, the influence of the built environment on this resource, and the status of conventional wind energy technology, before, in section 2, introducing specific BUWT technologies and their potential advantages and disadvantages. In section 3, the main technical hurdles are reviewed and addressed in terms of whether potential solutions exist or further research and development is required. In section 4, the potential electricity production and carbon dioxide emissions savings are estimated for a range of assumptions about incident wind speed and installation rates. To achieve the estimated levels of penetration and to maximise the effectiveness of individual BUWT installations, it is concluded in section 5 that improved understanding is required in four main areas (reproduced under Recommendations overleaf).

The successful development of Building Mounted/Integrated Wind Turbines would be assisted by further R&D in four broad areas: assessment of wind regime in urban areas, assessment of the structural implications of BUWTs, optimisation of wind turbine design for BUWT installations, and addressing various non-technical barriers. In addition, the establishment of a national test centre would facilitate the adoption and application of consistent standards for power performance measurement, noise and vibration assessment, and location/mounting and safety.

1. Assessing the Energy Generation Potential of BUWTs
2. Surveying and Assessing BUWT Technologies
3. Examining the Technical Solutions to the Technical Hurdles
4. Assessing the Economics and Potential CO₂ Emissions Savings from BUWTs
5. Producing a Research and Development Pathway to Demonstration

• Appendix 1: Detailed chart of turbine characteristics
• Appendix 2: Relative importance assigned to the 25 hurdles

When the UKERC TPA team completed its first assessment of the evidence on the costs and impacts of intermittent generation on the British electricity system, the conclusion was that the additional costs would be relatively low, adding around 5-8 per MWh to the cost of the renewable electricity generated. This was based on a review of the available evidence, most of which did not envisage more than 20% of electricity to be sourced from intermittent renewables.

Since then, the UKs targets for renewable generation have been set considerably higher than this, and a number of significant new studies have been carried out into the likely effects of a much higher proportion of renewable electricity in the UK mix.

This project provides an update to the original 2006 UKERC report, reviewing the new evidence for the impacts associated with higher shares ofrenewable generation and

This working paper is an update to our November 2021 briefing paper: Risk and investment in zero-carbon electricity markets.

This UKERC Research Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in wind energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.

UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: WIND ENERGY

• Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
• Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
• Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
• Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
• Section 5: Major fundingstreams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
• Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
• Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
• Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
• Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency

Offshore wind is widely expected to play a major role in UK compliance with the EU Renewables Directive. Projections from a range of analysts suggest the UK may need at least 15 to 20 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2020 (HoL, 2008) . Though the government has not set a specific target, the central range in its Renewable Energy Roadmap is that up to 18 GW could be installed by 2020 (DECC, 2011) with aspirations to go well beyond that in the decades that follow.

Development rights in the UK have been awarded by the Crown Estate (the owner of the seabed) in 4 rounds to date. Rounds 1 and 2, which commenced in 2001 and 2003 respectively, granted rights for a total of circa 8 GW of development. Round 2.5 gave Round 2 developers the rights to an additional 1.5 GW, whilst Round 3 rights, awarded in 2010, were for over 30 GW of potential development (The Crown Estate, 2010a, The Crown Estate, 2010b, Douglas-Westwood, 2010).

Given the substantial ambitions for UK offshore wind deployment the issue of cost and cost reduction has therefore been the subject of considerable interest. Drawing heavily on the data and analyses of UKERC TPA’s 2010 report (Greenacre et al., 2010), this paper examines cost trends in offshore wind energy, comparing past forecasts with outcomes to date, and analysing the main reasons for the disparity between them. The rationale for the study is to support and inform Chapter 5 of the UKERC TPA report ‘Presenting the Future: An assessment of future cost estimation methodologies in the electricity generation sector’. The case study has three specific aims:

• Examine the key trends in contemporary costs and future cost projections (Section 2);
• Understand the drivers underlying these key trends and the reasons for differences between anticipated cost levels and actual out-turns (Section 3);
• Identify implications for cost estimation methodologies (Section 4).

By 2020, it is projected that there will be 170GW of onshore wind capacity in the European Union, and 120GW in China (IEA, 2011), whilst America is expected to deliver 12GW of wind per year on average within this decade (Emerging Energy Research, 2009). Meanwhile within the UK, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) envisages a total of 13GW of onshore wind capacity over the same timeframe (DECC, 2011) However, although not as expensive as its offshore counterpart, the cost-effectiveness of onshore wind has been challenged within the UK. In February 2012 over one hundred MPs wrote to the Prime Minister expressing their concern about the subsidies required to support the technology (Middleton, 2012).

This case study contributes to a UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC, 2011) project on electricity generation cost estimation methodologies by:

• Examining forecasts for onshore wind costs made in the past;
• Comparing these forecasts with how costs actually evolved;
• Understanding the key historical drivers of onshore wind costs; and
• Identifying implications for onshore wind cost estimation methodologies.

The analysis focuses on the capex costs and levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of onshore wind. The cost data was collected from over 40 sources from a range of countries, with full details found in the Appendix.

The UK Energy Research Centre welcomes this opportunity to provide input to the BERR Consultation on the UK Renewable Energy Strategy. We have addressed a number of the questions posed in the consultation document calling on all UKERC members for input.

To meet the EU 15% renewable energy target will be a significant challenge for the UK. It is important to understand that reductions in the UKs total energy demand will produce proportional reductions in the renewable contribution required. Although self-evident, this simple fact is often overlooked. Indeed the UK has to date failed to achieve any reductions in energy use, in fact the reverse is true: energy consumption in the key sectors of electricity and energy for transport continues to rise steadily.

In addition to reducing the demand for energy, there will need to be a massive increase in the contribution of renewables to transport fuel (predominately biofuels), heat and electricity. This submission concentrates on renewable electricity because UKERC has core competency this area. In Table 1, below, UKERC presents an illustrative scenario for the contribution of renew

• Without the adoption of a more holistic approach that addresses BETTA structural reform and network regulation, it is difficult to see how a satisfactory resolution of the transmission access issue can be achieved.
• It is proposed that more strategic and unified development of the onshore and offshore network together with the provision of interconnection would be encouraged through common or at least zonal ownership of offshore transmission assets, while cost-effectiveness and the efficient delivery of assets could be achieved through tendering and outsourcing construction.
• Modern distribution networks are not typically designed to accommodate generation; a number of technical and operational challenges will need to be addressed in order for the connection of significant amounts of distributed generation on these networks.
• The consequences of intermittency or variability of input will need to be managed by a combination of retaining conventional plant and developing demand response. Additionally, interconnection with adjacent transmission systems and improved forecasting of wind resource and maintaining geographic diversity of wind generation could also reduce the impacts of intermittency.
• The role of smart grids will be to enhance the capacity and utilisation of the electricity grid (both transmission and distribution) by means other than investing in traditional transmission assets and, via the deployment of smart metering, massively increase the contribution of the demand side to system security and the decarbonisation of the heat and transport sectors.
• UKERC is concerned that a major opportunity will be missed unless there is a timely change to a regulatory regime that encourages objective and costefficient choices between investment and smart grid solutions.

We welcome the Welsh Government's interest in locally owned renewable energy. Our response draws on a range of research undertaken by the Heat and the City research group at the University of Edinburgh, including a UK-wide study of local authorities and energy; and on the Financing Community Energy research project being led by Tyndall Manchester.

In our response we made the following general comments, before responding to individual points raised in the call:

• We suggest that greater attention should be paid to city/town/settlement scale infrastructure for a low carbon energy system, including area based upgrading of the built environment and low carbon heating infrastructure. Heat and energy efficiency for a low energy building stock are crucial to meeting Welsh and UK Government legally binding targets for carbon abatement.
• At national scale, Wales has opportunities for sharing risk, costs and benefits of energy developments - i.e. the direct benefit to the citizens of Wales through public ownership and the aggregate costs across society of decarbonisation.
• Local Authority planning and ownership could be considered further as key components to securing greater local control and accountability, and achieving Welsh Government objectives. Our research indicates that further developing specific roles, powers, resources and responsibilities of local institutional actors in energy planning and ownership, especially Local Authorities would also add value to Welsh society and economy.