SeaSpace. Targeted Value-Add Services to the Offshore Renewable Energy Sector
Millard, Keiran1; Rust, Marisha2; shaw, john3
1HR Wallingford, UNITED KINGDOM; 2SeaZone, UNITED KINGDOM; 3Mainstream Renewables, IRELAND

The objective of SeaSpace is to drive economic benefits from the combination of the space sector and the offshore renewable energy sector. Current limitations in the offshore renewable energy sector could be addressed by the space sector and at the same time the requirements of the renewable energy sector will drive the sustained demand and growth for space-based EO capability of the oceans. SeaSpace provides a highly-focussed value-add service aim directly at the offshore renewables sector providing 'information on tap' from available space based sources.

The EU has a target to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions to 20% below 1990 levels and derive 20% of the EU’s energy consumption from renewable sources, both by 2020. At the same time, the offshore energy industry needs to reduce the cost of per megawatt of energy generation, thereby delivering EU targets on energy competition without subsidy by 2030. The only tangible way to reduce the cost of offshore energy generation is to reduce the risks in the construction and operation of generating infrastructure and this can only be done by better information on both their performance and the marine environment.

At the same time, many operational data services, such as the GMES Core Services and the ESA DUE 'Glob' initiatives are being established to deliver the synoptic data required by the renewables community - but there is still a significant gap between what is delivered by these services and what the renewables community can consume. SeaSpace aims to create a 'disruption' in how the industry as a whole can better use the data available from space to drive down project risks and accordingly the important 'cost per MW' ; ultimately accelerating development of the €6.4 Trillion Offshore Renewable Energy Industry in European Seas.