Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands
27°59′32″N 15°22′6″W / 27.99222°N 15.36833°W
Abbreviation | Scientific research |
---|---|
Location | |
Coordinates | 27°59′32″N 15°22′6″W / 27.99222°N 15.36833°W |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | José Joaquín Hernández Brito (Director) and Paula Pacheco (Executive Manager) |
Website | http://www.plocan.eu/index.php/en/ |
The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (
Infrastructures
The platform
The main aim of the
Onshore facility
The onshore testing facility has dedicated 400 m2 equipped workshops for electronics and mechanical integration, repairs, storage and logistics, including a wet-lab with a testing pool with target seawater. A dedicated control room for piloting and related issues is also available.
Marine test sites (harbor and offshore)
The harbor testing facility is located very close to the onshore facility (just a few meters with a direct view between both) and has clear and calm waters with maximum depths of 8 m. It is an optimal place for the early sea trials.
The
Electrical and Communications Grid Infrastructure (IECOM)
The evacuation of the electricity produced during experimental assays in PLOCAN Marine Test Site is done through its Electrical and Communication grid Infrastructure (IECOM). The IECOM will be operational in 2017 and it will be composed of 2 main modules, each with 5 MW of electricity evacuation capacity. Module 1 will be dedicated to wave energy converter demonstrators, with 5 positions of 1 MW each. Module 2 will be dedicated to offshore wind technologies with one position of 5 MW. Regular sea-operations are covered by PLOCAN's own boats as part of the main equipment available.
Ocean Observing systems
A fleet of unmanned marine vehicles for survey and work applications up to 1,000 m and moored buoys suited with meteorological and oceanographic sensors are available in order to cover real-time monitoring needs in the area.
Projects
PLOCAN is involved in European and national R&D&I projects with the objective of enabling research and scientific and technological development of maritime and marine sciences. Finished and ongoing projects can be consulted in a specific section of the PLOCAN webpage.
PivotBuoy received €4m EU funding in 2019 to install a 225 kW downwind floating wind turbine at PLOCAN.[2]
References
- ^ "Boletín Oficial del Estado del 5 de abril de 2008" (PDF) (in Spanish). Madrid, España. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "PivotBuoy project receives funding to advance cost-competitive floating wind – Energy Northern Perspective". Retrieved 31 March 2019.
External links
- Official Website: http://www.plocan.eu/index.php/en/
- Meril: http://portal.meril.eu/converis-esf/publicweb/research_infrastructure/2021
- Tethys: https://web.archive.org/web/20131212171545/https://mhk.pnnl.gov/wiki/index.php/Marine_Test_Site_for_Ocean_Energy_Converters
- Spanish Network of ICTS: http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/menuitem.26172fcf4eb029fa6ec7da6901432ea0/?vgnextoid=05cf097c526b4410VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD&lang_choosen=en (English)
- General overview: http://smartocean.org/Portals/2/FORUM/Presentations/SmartOcean%20Forum%202013%20-%20Ayoze%20Castro%20-%20PLOCAN%20-%20An%20Atlantic%20Multipurpose%20Platform%20and%20Marine%20Test%20Site%20Fostering%20Research%20and%20Innovation.pdf