Renewable energy workshops designed and led by UWindsor engineering professors are gaining steam nationwide.
Professor Rupp Carriveau, who helps lead the international Offshore Energy and Storage Society and directs UWindsor’s Environmental Energy Instituteand Turbulence and Energy Lab, said UWindsor’s latest renewable energy workshop held Jan. 29 focused on offshore systems in Canada.
“We want to start a conversation to evaluate the potential for a thriving offshore renewable energy sector in Canada and Canada’s role in the global market,” he said. “We want to see what the opportunities and obstacles are for us as a country so we’re ready and not caught flat-footed.”
Dr. Carriveau, alongside content specialist Lindsay Miller-Branovacki, started the workshop by reviewing examples from Europe and the developing U.S. offshore wind sector before beginning a discussion on regulatory and economic policy alongside evolving technology trends.
Carriveau said the Canadian offshore market has remained untapped due to a previous abundance of terrestrial resources and a relatively low energy demand. He believes Canadian offshore wind could be positioned to supply a growing U.S. demand. Policy makers, developers, community stakeholders and system operators are expected to join the workshop.
The event builds on the recent success of the Environmental Energy Institute’s workshop series on novel renewable energy financing mechanisms. The most recent in the national series was offered in conjunction with the Canadian Solar Industries Association and matched renewable energy developers with potential corporate consumers interested in direct purchase of sustainable energy.
In partnership with the Canadian Wind Energy Association, Carriveau and Dr. Miller-Branovacki will held the event the day before the association’s Operations and Maintenance Summit 2018. The workshop took place between 4 and 7 p.m. at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale at 6750 Mississauga Road in Mississauga, Ontario.
Visit osessociety.com/offshore-canada-2018 for more information.