Industry Case Studies

British Energy Studies

During 2008 we worked closely with staff in British Energy’s (BE) ENL Division as part of a framework agreement to provide marine advice services. This included advice on the implications of new environmental legislation, in particular the UK and Scottish Marine Bills, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive. We also undertook a number of discrete studies to support better management of marine risks.

Drawing on our expertise in marine planning, we explored potential risks to BE’s marine infrastructure assets and how these might be better managed both currently and under proposed new marine management arrangements. We also provided advice on options for managing marine waste. Significant quantities of marine waste can be generated at BE’s nuclear sites as a result of material that is collected on cooling water intake drum screens. Such waste can include a mixture of biological materials and marine litter. Conventional disposal to landfill can be expensive and is not considered to be sustainable in the long-term.  We made recommendations on possible alternative options for managing marine waste for individual nuclear sites based on existing and potential future solutions.

Guidance in the use of metocean data (CIRIA C666)

The marine specialists at ABPmer understand that metocean data is fundamental to the success of all marine renewable projects and is highly skilled in the use of such data for renewable energy development. 

It was, therefore, commissioned to lead a publication which was specifically created to identify and recommend on the uses of metocean data at each point in the life cycle of a marine renewables project. The guidelines review metocean data types, list options for sourcing such data and highlight the importance of good data management. 

The guide can be ordered directly from CIRIA at: http://www.ciria.org/acatalog/C666.html.

Plume Studies undertaken for CEFAS

Understanding the evolution of discharge plumes in the marine environment is fundamental when assessing the impacts of industrial cooling water discharges.  ABPmer’s dedicated modelling team, experts in plume dynamics, has undertaken a number of modelling studies for CEFAS to investigate the evolution of cooling water discharge plumes in the Blackwater and Severn Estuaries.  This work forms part of an assessment of suitable locations for a new nuclear power station for British Energy. 

In these studies, the Delft3D modelling software was used to configure and calibrate a 3-dimensional hydrodynamic and heat flux model, which was used to assess the evolution of the thermal plume under various meteorological and geo-morphological conditions, for a range of intake and outfall configurations.  In this way an evaluation of the impact of plume on the surrounding environment and the power station’s operating efficiency under present and future conditions was undertaken.  Results were used to inform on the suitability of the proposed intake/outfall configurations, capacity and site location.

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