Aquatera Going Global with Marine Renewables Experience

A presentation in Portugal earlier this year highlighted the international role Orkney companies are playing in the evolution of marine renewables.

After working with 12 companies developing tidal and wave technologies, Aquatera was well placed to advise Portuguese Government ministers and business leaders interested in developing energy generation at sea.

"The experience we've built up in Orkney meant we could offer practical advice on the opportunities and the potential risks they face," said managing director Gareth Davies.

"We’ve developed a good understanding of the challenges involved in developing and deploying marine renewables – and the solutions needed to overcome those challenges."

Aquatera has played wide ranging roles on projects such as the installation of Irish company OpenHydro’s tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), It has provided advice and expertise in areas as diverse as site selection; predicting wave conditions, safe operation of vessels and jack-up rigs, support during positioning operations, underwater inspection, seabed and wildlife surveys, control of marine operations, and risk assessment procedures.

"As a company, our experience has firm foundations in the offshore oil and gas, shipping, fish farming and marine recreation activities," Dr Davies explained.

"We understand how a development can affect the environment - and how the environment can affect a development. We also have extensive first-hand experience of many coastal waters, locally and further afield."

This has led to the company being invited to consider opportunities for wave and tidal energy generation in countries such as Canada, Chile and Taiwan.

With global experience already in areas such as the Mediterranean, the Caspian Sea, Sakhalin Island, the Falklands, the Faroes, the Baltic, West Africa and the Far East, Aquatera is keen to expand its international activities still further.