Marine renewables

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Offshore windfarm

The fast evolving and diverse nature of marine renewables requires a dynamic approach for industry services and support with the backing of a multidisciplinary team. Shetland UHI have worked with marine renewable organisations since 2011, providing them with a wide range of Services.

Our Marine Survey capabilities are used for identifying appropriate cable routes to landfall using our sub-bottom profiler and multibeam. Our Marine Spatial Planning Team have carried out fisher surveys for interaction analysis and we have collated habitat information which we can use for directed drop down video surveys or for habitat modelling and mapping. In addition, the Marine Spatial Planning Team have developed models to aid the site selection process for marine renewable developers. A Shetland wide example of this is the “Regional Locational Guidance for marine renewables”. Our Fisheries section provide in-depth knowledge of fish and shellfish species and their associated fisheries and have access to a range of Facilities, including different types of fishing gear that can be deployed using our fishing vessel. Vessel activity is an important consideration in, and around, any marine renewable site. Our staff are experienced in processing and analysing vessel tracking data (AIS, VMS, and iVMS) and can provide options for capturing vessel activity at your site.

Services which we can provide include:

  • Site Surveys (sediment depth mapping, cable routing options, inshore bathymetry mapping, habitat identification and mapping)
  • Fish Surveys
  • Stakeholder Surveys (examining potential interactions with devices and local stakeholders, e.g. fishers)
  • Site Location Analysis/Marine Planning
  • 3rd Party Surveys (using our survey vessel as a platform for 3rd party sensors and for seabird and cetacean sightings)
  • Mapping (2D and 3D visualisations)
  • Vessel Monitoring and Analysis