Robin Wallace

Energy policy and institutional context: Marine energy innovation systems

A process of UK energy policy review in the early 2000s has seen renewable energy technologies moving from the policy margins to centre-stage. The review process drew on international experiences of renewables innovation, including an innovation systems framework that emphasises ‘social capital’ (collaborative learning between distributed agents). However, the UK energy system reflects a longstanding policy commitment to ‘financial capital’ (market competition and avoiding ‘picking winners’). This paper analyses policy tensions between social and financial capital by focusing on marine energy innovation, especially in the emerging Scottish policy arena. Recent initiatives to promote renewables innovation in the UK, though significant, face continuing challenges. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

The design and commissioning of the first, circular, combined current and wave test basin.

In 2010 Bryden, Ingram and Wallace applied to the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for funding to construct the all waters combined current and wave test facility. Funding was awarded and over the next three years the FloWave TT facility was constructed. At its heart is a 25m diameter, circular basin, equipped with 168 force feedback wave makers, 28 bidirectional impellers and a liftable floor. The 2m deep test section is designed to generate currents (at 0.8m/s) and 700mm high, 2s period, waves from any relative directions. Allowing a model to be subjected to scale tests over the full tidal ellipse simultaneously with multi-directional waves. Construction of the facility was completed in November 2013, and calibration is currently in progress. Initial work has shown that maximum flows of 2ms-1 can be achieved across the test section, while the circular wave maker array allows very large focused waves to be created. This paper describes the FloWave facility, its construction and commissioning and presents some preliminary results.

On the Interaction of Waves With an Array of Open Chambered Structures: Application to Wave Energy Converters

The results of a study carried out to determine the modification of wave climate around an array of open chambered structures, which could represent an array of wave power devices are presented in this paper. The wave-structure interaction is studied using the Boussinesq wave model within the MIKE 21 suite software. The spacing between two adjacent structures within the array is varied from 1S to 5S, where S is equal to 20 m. The effect of varying the spacing between individual structures and the resulting wave reflection and transmission around the array is illustrated using simulated random waves. The results show that the degree of reflection and transmission mainly depends on the spacing between individual structures and the peak wave periods. The maximum increase in significant wave height due to wave reflection in front of the array reached about 39% and the maximum reduction in significant wave height downstream the array is found to be about 41%. The results presented in this paper should be of interest to the wave energy industry.Copyright

Research within the EPSRC supergen marine energy consortium and the UKERC R&D roadmap for wave and tidal current energy

The United Kingdom leads the world in the development and deployment of wave and tidal current energy technology. It has some of the best wave and tidal energy resources in the world. The UK university R&D base is well-supported through initiatives like the EPSRC SuperGen Consortium. This paper outlines the work of the consortium, summarises highlights and achievements of its research programme and describes progress in a second phase. It includes an overview of industrial engagement, capacity building in a novel Doctoral Training Programme. It also describes the production, findings and recommendations of the UKERC marine technology R&D roadmap. It concludes by identifying opportunities for research collaboration.