Energy Focus Areas
- Environmental survey/monitoring
- Marine mammal, fish/fisheries and bird interactions
- Marine governance, planning & decision-support tools
- Historic environment management & mitigation
- Safety and training
- Socioeconomic impact, community energy & carbon foot-printing
- Energy systems
- Resource assessment/characterisation
Tidal, Wave and Future Energy
Engineers, environmental and social scientists at UHI are working with multiple stakeholders to facilitate wave and tidal energy development in Scotland, the UK and internationally, together with techniques transferable to other marine energy (e.g., floating photovoltaic). These research activities ensure that project developers, regulators and other stakeholders have access to the necessary technologies, baseline data, predictive models, and evaluation methods to understand the significance and potential impacts of marine renewable developments on the surrounding system. For more information, please feel free to download our capability statement.
Offshore Wind
Engineers, environmental and social scientists at UHI are working with multiple stakeholders to facilitate the next stages of deployment of offshore wind technology in Scotland, the UK and internationally. These research activities ensure that project developers, regulators and other stakeholders have access to the necessary technologies, baseline data, predictive models and evaluation methods to understand the significance and potential impacts of offshore wind developments on the surrounding marine system. For more information, please feel free to download our capability statement.
Hydrogen
University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) unique locational composition places it at the heart of many areas where both constraints and opportunities are favourable for hydrogen research and development. By supporting research, innovation, and training initiatives across different areas of the hydrogen economy, UHI is well placed to play a key role in further progression of the hydrogen sector and is open to collaboration on new opportunities. For more information, please feel free to download our capability statement.
Onshore Wind
UHI research activities ensure that project developers, regulators and other stakeholders have access to the necessary technologies, baseline data, predictive models, and evaluation methods to understand the significance and potential impacts of onshore wind developments on the surrounding terrestrial system. Our goals include early identification of data gaps or potential conflicts to reduce risks and resource requirements, as well as engaging with novel technology development for environmental characterisation, impact prediction and long-term environmental monitoring across large scales. For more information, please feel free to download our capability statement.
Other Specialisms
Sustainable Systems
With significant experience in the aerospace, transport and energy sectors the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is comfortable in managing and optimising multi-disciplinary projects. By applying the principles of lifecycle management the full progression of a technology or product can be carefully established from positioning through definition, development, planning and trial, to delivery, operation and disposal. The process can be applied to any complex system, such as a distributed energy generation and distribution network, enabling the designer to optimise a solution against one or more measurements of performance (including cost and efficiency) and within multiple constraints (including space, legislation, safety, etc.).
Decommissioning
Our multi-disciplinary teams have expertise that can be applied across the energy spectrum and is highly applicable to the decommissioning and oil and gas sectors. Our SRSL marine ecologists possess a clear understanding of marine biofouling survey methodology necessary for the quantification and prediction of marine growth patterns on offshore structures. We are intimately familiar with industry-standard project management and engineering design tools and how they can be tailored to be appropriate for every size of project. The team at the ORCA commercial services have significant experience in environmental impact assessments, environmental statement, evaluations and monitoring of geotechnical works. ERI's specialist marine researchers have considerable knowledge of metocean conditions, wave measurement and modelling, hydrodynamic research, and extensive marine sensing and measurement equipment available.