The most suitable sites for marine energy projects have a combination of high current speeds and water depth, adequate sea or riverbed conditions, proximity to a grid connection, and interest on the part of the local community. Most importantly, marine energy devices must be deployed in such a way that they can coexist with marine life and human activities.
ORPC has in-house capabilities for collecting, monitoring, and evaluating environmental data as a result of our numerous project development activities. We have a track record of success in the following areas of environmental, site and project feasibility assessment:
Numerical hydrodynamic modeling
Acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) transects to determine best resource locations
Deployment and retrieval of bottom mounted ADCPs for detailed resource measurements
Multi-beam sonar
Geophysical sub-bottom profiling
Hydraulic studies
Our site assessment form identifies the types of information that are typically needed to evaluate a site or project.