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There is a potential conflict between the expansion of marine renewable energy developments, such as offshore wind farms, and seabird conservation. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be carried out before planning permission can be granted for such projects. Working with environmental consultancies and key statutory bodies, Professor Furness at the University of Glasgow developed a clear, systematic and widely accepted framework for assessing the impact of wind, wave and tidal projects on seabird populations. This framework has expedited the project development process and lessened potential risks to seabirds, meeting conservation requirements while benefiting all those involved in renewable energy projects by reducing the risk of misjudgements in the impact assessment process.
Recent calls from indigenous peoples for information about and access to historic artefacts crucial to their well-being have led to a re-evaluation of both private and museum-held collections. These collections are now being used in innovative ways to revitalise cultural knowledge and to record marginalised historical perspectives. This case study documents one such project. The funding for the Material Histories project (2005-07), which came from AHRC, included specific provision for public outreach work. This comprised a temporary exhibition held at the Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen (4 February to 11 May 2008), an educational website and public talks. Most recently the project has stimulated the development of cultural awareness training in Northern Manitoba, Canada.
Safeguarding our seas through the establishment of marine Special Protection Areas and cultural heritage Seascapes is a fundamental aim of European Union Directives and the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Over the past decade, sonar research development led by Dr Bates of the University of St Andrews has had widespread influence on international government and industry through accurate mapping of these assets, championing their importance and establishing new management strategies for their conservation. This work has been pivotal to the creation of 107 of the current legislated European Marine Special Areas of Conservation and Marine Special Protection Areas. The innovations in technology pioneered by this work also are providing critical findings on climate change impacts in the Earth's most sensitive and threatened environments with world media coverage on work in the Arctic including the award- winning TV series Operation Iceberg in 2012. Strong international media involvement has become one of the hallmarks of this work which simultaneously delivers research results as outputs of high quality across the globe. Furthermore, the technology has had economic impact in the form of three spin-out companies.
This research, led by Amy Hardie and the Scottish Documentary Institute from 2006 onwards, investigates the practice of communicating and engaging with science through creative documentary filmmaking, developing a screening strategy heralded as 'a completely different paradigm of cinema' (5.1). By drawing out human stories in award-winning, critically-acclaimed films, it has mainstreamed complex subject matter about stem cell research, redressing public and media misconceptions along the way. One film has been watched over 112,000 times in 190 countries, while behind the camera, it has forged cross-disciplinary collaborations between artists and biological scientists that have been discussed and admired by policy-makers in Brussels and Tokyo.
The commercialisation of Newcastle University's pioneering research in underwater acoustic communication has created market leading products, achieving economic impact, enhanced subsea operations, an award for improved diver safety and reduced impact of subsea acoustic emissions on marine mammals. Our research outputs have been incorporated in a range of products manufactured under licence by Tritech International Ltd. Since 2008 the MicronNav product has become the preferred solution for tracking underwater remotely operated vehicles from manufacturers including Seabotix Inc and Videoray Inc, with over £2M of licensed products sold to date. Bespoke high performance data telemetry systems have also enabled previously impossible subsea operations to be completed.
Specialising in Neolithic archaeology, Professor Colin Richards communicates his research beyond academic audiences to the public through museum and community exhibitions, public lectures, newspapers and television. His work has raised local and international awareness of archaeology in Orkney, and tourism through, for example, the reconstruction of archaeological sites thereby contributing to the UNESCO World Heritage status of Orkney. His research has shaped the international profile of these heritage resources through the regional World Heritage research framework, and public presentation of monuments within the World Heritage Area. Richards' research also underpinned specialist evidence at a public windfarm inquiry, the outcome of which contributed to Orkney Island Council windfarm development Policy.
The International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) based at Heriot-Watt University's Orkney campus is a multi-disciplinary research team whose focus for over a decade has been research into the socio-economic and environmental barriers to the development of marine renewable energy, particularly in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters (PFOW) area and its establishment as a Marine Energy park. This has enabled 1.2GW of marine energy leases by the Crown Estates including an estimated £3billion of related capital investment, as well as the establishment of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), which continues to maintain its impact on the development of marine renewable energy.
Research at the International Centre for Island Technology at Heriot-Watt University has led to a substantial boost to Orkney with £8.8m in Gross Value Added to the local economy, with the creation of 119 jobs (Biggar Economics, 2012) through a dozen spin-out companies.
Ground-breaking research in the field of Dynamic Insulation (DI) at Aberdeen University has contributed to international efforts to combat climate change through the reduction of the carbon emissions associated with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning of buildings. Through the establishment of a spin-out company and the development of the world's first modular DI product, jobs have been created and developers have been able to use the first commercially available DI products and systems to meet strict new environmental targets. The success of such projects has led to greater public awareness of the issues around global warming.
Research at the University of Strathclyde between 2003 and 2008 directly produced the following impacts from 2008 onwards: 10 wind farms (17 MW aggregate capacity) connected to the Orkney power network from 2009 to 2013 with accompanying economic and environmental benefits; Orkney power network reinforcement deferral saving of £30M from 2009 with repeat deployments of Active Network Management (ANM) technology in other UK power networks; spin-out company formed in September 2008 with total revenues to date of £6.1M, equity investment totalling £3.5M and 35 FTE jobs created; provision of new power system options for long term network plans impacting the 2013 investment decisions in distribution network companies; contribution to the emerging Smart Grid business sector in the UK and overseas from 2008.
A step change reduction in tidal energy costs has been achieved through the development of the novel Contra Rotating Marine Turbine `CoRMaT' tidal energy technology. The internationally patent-protected CoRMaT system reduces capital, operational and maintenance costs while increasing the extractable tidal energy resource by harnessing flows in deeper waters and from less energetic sites, which were previously considered to be uneconomic. A University spin-out company, Nautricity Ltd, was formed in 2010 to commercialise this technology. The development of this technology has changed both Scottish and UK Government policy via their introduction of programmes which demonstrate a step change reduction in the costs of marine renewables.