Presenting The Eirwind Project At Wesc 2019 With Valerie Cummins

With Valerie Cummins.

1 min pitch for what you are doing now?

I am working as a senior lecturer, researcher and consultant in coastal governance, ocean innovation and sustainability.  My work is focused on the human dimensions of marine social-ecological systems. In other words, I study and apply knowledge from the fields of coastal zone management, Blue Growth, and energy transitions; by deriving insights on stakeholder engagement in the decision-making process, innovation ecosystems and entrepreneurship.

Based in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES), in University College Cork, I promote the human aspects of ecosystems, and I work across boundaries by collaborating with colleagues from BEES, the School of Business, Engineering, and elsewhere. I build on the track record and experience that I gained as Director of IMERC, which influenced significant developments in Lower Cork Harbour, including the MaREI Centre, which is where some of my research team is currently located.

As lead of the ProtoAtlantic project, over the past 12 months, we have delivered a marine accelerator programme to help start-up companies achieve access to mentorship programmes and testing facilities across the Atlantic margin from the Orkney islands to the Canaries.

My PhD students are exploring the building blocks of Blue Growth and transboundary marine conflicts. Through our work, we have defined Blue Growth as sustainable development, focusing on intergenerational well-being, in emerging marine sectors. The concept of sustainable development of our oceans and seas is more relevant now than ever before. There is increasing public awareness of issues such as the impacts of plastics in the marine environment, however, this issue is just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, we need to urgently accelerate towards decarbonisation of the economy to address climate change. The development of the offshore wind sector provides a unique opportunity for Ireland. By being smart in how we go about this, we can achieve added value by creating a new enterprise and export sector (i.e. Blue Growth).

This is a huge motivation for me. In 2017, myself and my colleague Dr Eamon McKeogh, envisioned a project to address the constraints and opportunities around offshore wind, in response to public policy and industry needs. The idea for a transdisciplinary approach to researching a blueprint for offshore wind took off.

, we are midway through the Eirwind project, led by myself and Dr Jimmy Murphy. This is a €1.2m MaREI Science Foundation Ireland project, supported by Brookfield Renewables, DP Energy, Enerco, Engie, EDPR, Equinor, ESB, Simply Blue Energy, Statkraft and SSE. The consortium includes some of the largest utilities and corporations in renewables in Europe.

We have assembled a team of 12 researchers, including biologists, social scientists, geographers, geologists, engineers and GIS experts, to work on critical issues such as a social licence to operate, levelised cost of energy, power to gas – hydrogen, and data issues.

We are focusing on policy-relevant research, and seek to inform an evidence-based approach to marine spatial planning.  The need for the research is driven by government targets of 70% of energy from renewables by 2030. Right now, we have 25MW of offshore wind developed on the Arklow Bank. One could envision up to 4,000MW (4GW) of offshore wind to meet government renewable demands.  You can see the enormity of the challenge ahead.

This challenge is not unique to Ireland. We need 20% more food, 30% more water and 40% more energy on the planet to meet demographic trends to 2050.  My work at the international level informs how science can help to deal with coasts vulnerable to changes such as sea level rise, acidification and resource depletion.

As co-chair of Future Earth Coasts, I have the opportunity to understand issues in diverse global hotspots. I recently returned from Palau, a small island nation in Micronesia, as part of a collaboration with Stanford University on issues surround fisheries, climate and food security. Last month I attended an expert session at the UN in New York, in relation to my ongoing contribution to the World Ocean Assessment.

How was the last year, what worked well, what didn’t move as quickly as you would have liked?

The last year was extremely rewarding, not least because we got the Eirwind contract over the line, and particularly because of the opportunity that afforded to recruit an incredible research team. Building teams and facilitating engagement across diverse stakeholders in the context of innovation, is what I like to do best.  The recruitment process was a challenge, as so many opportunities have opened up for graduates in industry, and researchers on short-term contracts need to find housing, which we all know is in short supply.

At another level, it should be stated that the policy landscape has not moved quickly enough. The Blue Growth opportunity for Ireland will pass us by, if we fail to put appropriate consenting and regulatory frameworks in place for marine resource management.  The Maritime Area and Foreshore Amendment bill, commonly known as MAFA, is progressing painfully slowly.

In fact, it has been under development for over eight years, in which time offshore developers, fish farmers, marina owners and many others, have been in limbo. It has now been renamed as the Maritime Planning and Development Bill. Let’s hope the name isn’t the only thing that will be progressed in the legislative process in the coming months!

What are your plans for the future?

I have a relatively short-term horizon right now. Given the huge task to deliver the ambitious outputs from the Eirwind project, this is most certainly my focus, and will continue to be over the next 12 months.

What will you be talking about at this event? (brief taster)

We will be presenting the Eirwind project, during a special session, according to its multiple facets.  These include work on the potential socioeconomic impact of various scenarios for offshore wind development, with respect to both bottom fixed and floating wind technology. Readers should note that bottom fixed technology, is traditionally deployed in relatively shallow water at depths of about 30m. As a result, we will see initial take-off for the sector in the Irish Sea off the East coast.

New floating technology opens up much deeper waters (up to 120m). Instead of piling foundations, turbines are attached via mooring systems to the seabed. This means the potential for further job creation off the South and West Coast of Ireland.  Our socio-economic work, supported by Dr Declan Jordan in the Department of Economics, is mapping the supply chain and developing economic models to help us to understand how this might look.  We will also be presenting our work on public perception of offshore wind, benefit sharing models for stakeholder engagement.

Dr Andy Wheeler is leading a work package on data, which will be presented according to insights on data gaps that need to be addressed, in particular, geotechnical data, as well as our approach to modelling visual impact assessment.

Dr Paul Leahy’s work package on route to market will be presented according to our modelling work on power to gas scenarios, with a focus on hydrogen for heat and transport. Hydrogen is the missing link for a completely decarbonised world. This is an exciting and innovative work stream.

Dr Jimmy Murphy’s work package, on the optimisation of the cost of energy, will be presented according to the financial modelling software that takes full life cycle characteristics of an offshore wind farm into consideration.

What inspired you to attend it?

I have been inspired by conference champion and organiser Dr Cian Desmond, who introduced me to WESC, and who has been working so hard to bring the largest conference in the history of UCC to Cork this summer. The diversity of topics and the strong scientific aspect to the conference make it very appealing.

Which influencers and websites do you follow to keep up to date with the latest developments?

The list is long. There is a lot of great research underway, published in the peer-reviewed academic journals. However, I would single out two here. At a national level, the Marine Renewables Industry Association (MRIA) is doing excellent work on emerging offshore wind technology, and it provides members with insights into policy, as it unfolds.

Renews, https://renews.biz/ an online newsfeed for renewable energy, provides excellent intelligence on the renewable energy sector.

How can people find out more about what you are working on?

http://www.protoatlantic.eu/

https://www.marei.ie/eirwind/

https://www.futureearthcoasts.org/

Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked?

There is one other project, that is really important to me, and that we hope to make a big splash about next year (pardon the pun!). This is Shorelines: The Coastal Atlas of Ireland. This will be an 800 page, 33-chapter publication, containing circa 1,000 maps and illustrations. Edited by myself and colleagues Robert Devoy, Barry, Brunt, Sarah Kandrot and Darius Bartlett, it is due to be published by Cork University Press This will be a visually stunning, accessible and academic tour de force which will resonate with anybody who has a connection to Ireland and with and interests in the coast.

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