Consorcio para el Diseño, Construcción, Equipamiento y Explotación de la Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias
Description
The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) is a joint initiative between the Spanish and the Canary Islands governments, with the support of the European Regional Development Fund. It represents a multipurpose service centre with land-based and sea-based novel infrastructures to support research, technology development an innovation in the marine and maritime sector. Its mission is to promote long-term observation and sustainability of the ocean, providing a cost-effective combination of services, such as observatories, test site, base for underwater vehicles, training and innovation hub.
Main tasks – and how the profile of the organisation matches the tasks in the proposal
PLOCAN has extensive experience in the fields of testing marine technologies, specially co-location and integration of blue economy activities. PLOCAN operate 23Km2 reserve for R&D to test marine technologies, integrating ocean observation, offshore wind (fixed and floating), wave energy or unmanned devices. PLOCAN contributes with the hosting of equipment, devices and marine technologies, for testing, validation and demonstration activities and/or any other necessary experiments in its marine test site. The housing services imply rights and regulated conditions to use the facilities and its 23Km2 of marine test area, as well as associated services such as transport, installation, maintenance, monitoring, decommissioning, permits, accommodation, and insurance among others. In this framework, PLOCAN, will bring to the project its previous experience in:
(1) Project management, including the implementation of Prince2 methodology.
(2) On regard on co-locations of blue grow activities, PLOCAN has been the project coordinator of TROPOS (for a complete design of conceptual multi-use offshore platform models, including the integration of offshore wind) or NEXOS project(Next generation, Cost-effective, Compact, Multifunctional Web Enabled Ocean Sensor Systems Empowering Marine, Maritime and Fisheries Management) and partner dozen of related projects (focused on provide testing and acceleration technologies to market). PLOCAN is also the selected Marine test site, by the project ELICAN for the installation and demonstration of the first 5MW offshore wind turbine in Spain and the whole south of Europe. Furthermore, it has been recently used by two other innovative floating offshore wind (FOW) technologies to test and validate their scaled prototypes in the framework of 2 specific EU projects: the WIP10+ Project to demonstrate at sea a scale prototype of the fully integrated offshore wind floating platform which holds a couple twin wind turbines of up to 6 MW each; and the PIVOTBUOY project to demonstrate an innovative system that aims to reduce the costs of mooring systems and floating platforms, allows faster and cheaper installation and a more reliable and sustainable operation. It is important to highlight that, in addition to these main activities supporting FOW, PLOCAN is coordinating the FLOTANT project (H2020) which proposes to develop an innovative, integrated, Floating Offshore Wind (FOW) solution, optimized for deep waters (100-600m) and to sustain a 10+MW wind turbine generator (WTG), composed by: a mooring and anchoring system using high performance polymers and based on Active Heave Compensation (AHC) to minimize excursions, a hybrid concrete-plastic floater and a power export system based on long self-life and low-weight dynamic cables. The project includes enhanced O&M strategies, sensoring and monitoring and the evaluation of the techno-economic, environmental, social, and socioeconomic impacts.
(3) The demonstration of wave energy prototypes, which included: the projects WELCOME and IMPACTO WAVE-ENERGY (for the first and second tests of 3-volumetric system for harvesting wave energy by multiple uptake and complemented conversion technology), UNDIGEN (the test and validation of a power-take off system consisting of a switched reluctance and high force density linear generator for use with existing point absorbers), WELLO (the test and validation of the conversion of wave movement to gyration). Currently, PLOCAN is contributing to test the horizontal wave generator of WAVEPISTON. PLOCAN is composed by 29 specialists (10 PhDs) in different scientific and technical fields of the Marine Sciences and Technologies. Most of PLOCAN's senior managers have been engaged as Principal Investigators and/or Project Coordinators in several European Union projects from the 4th to the 7th Framework programs.
Role In Project
PLOCAN can provide experience process related to consenting, authorization, environmental impact assessment, surveillance and monitoring of environmental impacts, management of relations with stakeholders, social or economic impacts.