Filling the gap: a UK-based assessment of the Perth Wave Energy Project

苏格兰和英国政府制定了雄心勃勃的可再生能源目标，到2015年，苏格兰将有50%的电力来自可再生能源，到2020年，可再生能源将占英国总能源消费的15%。英国拥有世界上最丰富的波浪能源资源之一，为了利用这种动力，技术正在迅速走向商业规模的开发。需要大量的行业投资来维持发展步伐，但在当前的金融环境下，投资者已变得更加厌恶风险和/或不确定性。然而，在澳大利亚，卡内基·珀斯波浪能源项目(PWEP)将是世界上第一个连接电网和水利基础设施的波浪能阵列，由三个卡内基波浪能源有限公司CETO设备组成。尽管我们是“市场领导者”，但英国还没有达到这样的发展水平。从科学、工业和监管的角度来看，这是一个重要的国际知识交流机会。在开始任何开发阶段之前，拟议中的波能项目必须进行详细的环境影响评估(EIA)。环境影响评估通常基于基线调查的信息，输入到模型中，并用于预测任何潜在的环境影响，这些影响必须在波浪能项目的整个生命周期内减轻和/或监测。对于英国的开发商来说，遵守EIA法规可能是一个不可预测、成本高昂、资源密集型的过程，而且可能会影响项目的外部投资。澳大利亚的法规不那么严格，还是遵循的过程不那么繁琐和精简？或者，澳大利亚公司在获得环境同意方面更有效？通过评估PWEP将如何违反英国的监管规定，这次实习将开始回答这些问题。此外，我们亦会找出在工务工程计划类型的工程项目内，可能会阻碍环评和同意程序的学术上不明朗之处。通过围绕已确定的差距开展具体、深思熟虑的量化研究，这次实习将在一定程度上减少围绕波能项目的科学不确定性。这将在一定程度上减少EIA的不可预测性，并同意波能开发过程，使英国对国内外投资者更具吸引力，在英国行业内建设能力，以实现政府规定的可再生能源目标。

The Scottish and UK governments have set ambitious targets on renewable energy, with 50% of electricity to be generated by renewable sources in Scotland by 2015, and 15% of the UK's total energy consumption to be from renewable sources by 2020. The UK has one of the richest wave energy resources in the world, and technologies are rapidly moving towards commercial-scale developments in order to harness this power. Substantial industry investment is needed to sustain the pace of development, but in the current financial climate investors have become more averse to risk and/or uncertainty. In Australia, however, the Carnegie Perth Wave Energy Project (PWEP) will be the world's first grid and water infrastructure connected wave energy array, made up of three Carnegie Wave Energy Ltd. CETO devices. This level of development has not been achieved in the UK, despite our position as 'market leader'. This represents a significant international knowledge exchange opportunity from scientific, industrial, and regulatory perspectives.Proposed wave energy projects must carry out a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) before any development phase can begin. The EIA is often based on information from a baseline survey, fed into models and used to predict any potential environmental impacts which must be mitigated and/or monitored throughout the life of the wave energy project. Complying with EIA regulations can be an unpredictable, costly and resource intensive process for developers in the UK, and one which can affect outside investment into a project.Are Australian regulations less rigorous, or are the processes followed less cumbersome and more streamlined? Or are Australian companies more effective at achieving environmental consent? By assessing how the PWEP would fare against UK regulations, this internship will begin to answer these questions. Furthermore, gaps or areas of academic uncertainty within PWEP-type projects which could hold up the EIA and consenting process will be identified. By developing specific, well-thought-out, quantitative studies around the identified gaps, this internship will go some way towards reducing scientific uncertainty around wave energy projects.This will go some way towards reducing the unpredictable nature of the EIA and consenting process for wave energy developments, making the UK more attractive to internal and international investors, building capacity within the UK industry to achieve the stated government renewable energy targets.