Work at sea is extremely expensive; even for small inspection tasks, large vessels have to be mobilized to deploy manned intervention strategies. Day rates for small oceangoing vessels can easily be on the order of $5,000-$10,000 with a crew of 5 or more. The cost of these operations contribute significantly to the cost of electricity from these offshore power plants, especially during the early phases of industry development. Unmanned and remotely operated vehicle technology has made significant progress over the past 5-years. Re Vision Consulting in partnership with SeaRobotics is developing a autonomous vehicle platform that can be used to carry out a range of inspection and subsea intervention tasks reducing intervention cost for some operations by an order of magnitude. It will address some critical technical barriers related to the practical operation of these vehicles in the harsh offshore environment and enable a cost-reduction pathway that is a critical component of lowering the O & amp;M cost of marine renewable energy installations. Wave, tidal, ocean current and offshore wind energy are an emerging renewable energy technology field that have the potential to meet a significant portion of the US electricity demand over the next decades. This project will accelerate technology deployment by reducing cost, while improving operational safety and improve access to these offshore installations.
