EDF Energy to lead on ETI project to understand natural hazards and the design of high value energy system assets
7 July 2014
July 7th 2014
· New £500k knowledge building project to help improve energy system infrastructure design
· Will develop a framework and best practice approach to characterise natural hazards
· EDF Energy to deliver the three phase project
Loughborough, July 7th 2014 - The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has appointed EDF Energy to lead a knowledge building project to help better understand the range of natural hazards to be considered during the design of high value energy system assets.
The project, which is expected to take up to three years to complete, will develop a framework and best practice approach to characterise natural hazards and seek to improve methodologies where current approaches are inefficient. This is to improve energy system infrastructure design. The project is intended to share knowledge of natural hazards across sectors.
This ETI commissioned and funded project is part of the ETI’s technology strategy which is looking at how to accelerate the development of new energy generation technologies for a UK transition to a low carbon economy.
The project is budgeted to have a value of £500,000 and is due to be completed in three stages. Phase one will focus on a gap analysis. Phase two will look at developing a series of improved methodologies from the gaps identified in phase one, and phase three will demonstrate how to apply these methodologies as well as developing a ‘how to’ guide for use by project engineers.
The project will complement and run in parallel with two other ETI projects. The first is a project to consider siting constraints in England and Wales for new power plant development. The second is a project to identify the requirements for alternative small-scale power generation technologies to address the energy system needs of low carbon electricity, heat, and system balancing solutions
Mike Middleton, the ETI strategy manager responsible for the project, said
“This project is to build knowledge on natural hazards to inform energy infrastructure design. It also has cross-cutting elements which are relevant to multiple technologies which includes nuclear. EDF Energy’s capacity and capability in this field will help us to build a greater understanding of the range of natural hazards to be considered. This project reflects the ETI’s approach to integration and optimisation of the energy system including the contribution from nuclear. Our supporting projects in these areas will contribute to our knowledge of the sector, in which we will seek to build a robust evidence base to help informed deployment decisions to be taken.”
Regis Nhili, from EDF Energy, added:
“Safety is our overriding priority for our nuclear power stations but also for the entire business. This project will contribute to the development of safe high value infrastructures in the UK. We are proud to lead this project and to be part of a robust consortium including Met Office, Mott McDonald and the AIR World Wide. It is a good opportunity to share our experience and knowledge with other industrial partners.”
To view a short video of Strategy Manager Mike Middleton speaking about the announcement click here.