Last week, our SELKIE project was delighted to have been involved in the Destination Renewables Session at Pembrokeshire College, ‘An Introduction to Marine Renewable Energy and Floating Offshore Wind’.
Destination Renewables is a new pioneering programme preparing students for the future renewables’ jobs market.
To raise awareness of the renewable energy sector and develop a skilled future workforce, DP Energy (Selkie Project partners) and EDF Renewables UK, working with Pembrokeshire College and industry partners, have designed a 2-year programme aimed at 16 to 18 year olds.
Selkie project coordinator, Matt Telfer joined Tim Brew, Marine Energy Wales Education Programme Manager, Dr Steven Hughes, Chief Technology Officer at Batri Ltd and Jack Hughes, Senior Simulation Engineer for Marine Power Systems to deliver a 2-hour session of presentations, interactive activities, guided discussion and a Q&A.
It provided a fantastic opportunity to share some of the key research Selkie has developed over the past three years. The presentation focused on wave and tidal energy, how they come into formation, the technology being developed and how the Selkie tools are helping to improve our understanding and gain better accuracy in prediction and measurement.
Some students were surprised to discover Pembrokeshire has some of the best tidal stream resources on our doorstep – The Bitches tidal race in Ramsay Sound. Students also seemed suitably impressed at some of the images of surfers and kayakers riding the spectacular standing wave that arises when the water between Ramsey Island and the Welsh coastline is squeezed over a sea bed that changes height dramatically.
An expertly-presented session from Dr Stephen Hughes focussed on tidal range and how tidal lagoons work to capture this energy. Jack Hughes had some excellent animations of the latest Marine Power Systems modular platform technology, Pelagen, which can harness both wave and wind energy effectively.
To view the Slides from the SELKIE presentation please click here
Destination Renewables is underpinned by the Skills and Talent programme of the Swansea Bay City Deal, jointly funded by the Welsh and UK Governments, alongside private sector investment.