Newcastle University

On Friday 11 May a group of Stage 2 undergraduate students visited Narec (National Renewable Energy Centre) in Blyth, Northumberland. Narec is a world-leading centre for advancing offshore renewable energy technologies, with facilities for testing and developing the blades, electrical systems and drive-trains of offshore wind, tidal and wave energy generating devices.

The students had a lecture from Tony Quinn (Director of Major Projects and Assets) and colleagues regarding Narec’s main activities working with technology developers to help make new devices an investible and insurable alternative to meet future energy demands.

The students were then given a guided tour by Neil Matthias and colleagues from Shepherd Construction Ltd. of the key testing facilities currently under construction at the site. This tour highlighted a number of the important civil engineering challenges faced by the construction and operation of the blade and drive-train testing facilities and the overlaps between mechanical, electrical and civil engineering disciplines.