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Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials have been used in a variety of civil and infrastructure applications since the early 1980s including in wind turbine blades. The world is now confronting the problem of how to dispose of decommissioned blades in an environmentally sustainable manner. One proposed solution is to repurpose the blades for use in new structures (www.re-wind.info). One promising repurposing application is in pedestrian and cycle bridges. This paper reports on the experimental investigation conducted on a wind blade to be used in the construction of a bridge for a greenway in Cork, Ireland in late 2021. Two LM 13.4 blades originally manufactured by LM Windpower (Kolding, Demark) will be utilized as girders for the bridge. A detailed reverse-engineering investigation of the as-received, previously used, blade was conducted to obtain material and structural properties for use in the structural design of the bridge. The material tests included physical (volume fraction and laminate architecture) and mechanical tests (tension and compression) at multiple locations. Full-scale testing of a section of the blade was performed to determine the load carrying capacity and the failure modes when loaded in flexure similar to that which will be experienced in the bridge. Key details of the testing conducted and the results are provided. The results of the testing revealed that the FRP material is still in excellent condition and that the blade has the strength and stiffness in flexure to serve as a bridge girder for the bridge to be constructed.

In 2020, the Energy Engineering programme team at University College Cork undertook a redesign of the introductory first-year module in Energy Engineering. The aim was to introduce a more experientially-based learning experience and to allow first-year students greater opportunity to develop and demonstrate performance-based understanding. The key material change to the module was to incorporate design and group work in the first year of the programme. In the Wind Turbine Maker Challenge, groups of 4-5 students were tasked with designing and building a working wind turbine. Students were provided with kits comprising some basic elements of turbines including small generators and gearboxes and simple, flat blades. However, the focus of the exercise was on original design, particularly of the aerodynamic rotor components of the turbines. The participants had to source their own materials for the wind turbine rotors, and were encouraged to use recovered or recycled materials. Students were also asked to consider ethical aspects of wind energy generation. In developing this approach, the conceptualisation of teaching as setting up and facilitating students' performance was to the forefront. The formal classroom instruction was limited to only the core knowledge required to enable students to begin to consider suitable materials, geometries for their turbine designs through hands-on experimentation. Survey feedback from students showed that they had strongly focussed on the environmental and sustainability aspects of the exercise. Students were asked what they thought the goal of the exercise was. Students’ reported understandings of the main goal varied widely, for example “Learning how wind turbines work” and “Working as a team towards a common goal”. However, all of the students’ reported goals were compatible with the module’s learning outcomes.

As part of an introductory energy engineering undergraduate module at University College Cork, student presentations on a zero-carbon energy plan for Ireland have shown a high preference for nuclear energy, despite a complete absence of nuclear energy from the same module curriculum. Nuclear power has never been built or generated in Ireland, is currently illegal, and faces high levels of public opposition. The origins of a high preference for nuclear energy among undergraduate student engineers is therefore unclear. In response to this high preference for, but critically unengaged view of nuclear power, the authors developed a participatory learning activity for first year undergraduate engineering students to engage with a range of maximally different perspectives on nuclear power. Four different perspectives on whether Ireland needs nuclear power were presented to this year’s class: definitely yes; definitely no; maybe yes; maybe no. These perspectives involved a number of different framings of nuclear power and ranged across a spectrum from techno-economic to socio-technical. They emphasised to a greater or lesser degree issues around risk, cost, system impacts, timing, social acceptability, and sustainability. The activity took place in a room divided into four quadrants with each quadrant representing one of the four different perspectives on nuclear power. At the start of activity, students were invited to go to the quadrant that best represented their initial views. Each perspective on nuclear power was then delivered in a short expert presentation by one of the co- authors. Throughout these presentations, students were invited to remain in or move from their quadrant as they were persuaded or not by the arguments advanced. At the start of the activity, an overwhelming majority (96%) of the students indicated a yes preference with the majority of these being maybe yes (79%); at the end of the debate the total yes share had significantly decreased (to 54%), with the largest share of the lost vote moving to the maybe no category which finished at 36% (having started at 0%). Overall, there was a greater distribution of students across all four categories than at the start. Evaluations on the activity format were largely positive. Student reasons for changing their views were mostly socio-technical points specific to Ireland that included the electricity system, overall energy needs, costs and expert availability. Closing reflections introduced the idea of a wicked problem and highlighted the importance of values to questions such as “Should Ireland Go Nuclear”, i.e. avoiding an exclusively narrow scientific framing.

Greenways are long-distance walking and cycling routes, often developed along the routes of disused railways. Greenways therefore are a means of repurposing underused infrastructure to provide sustainable transport. They also offer benefits for leisure activities, rural development and tourism. The network of greenways in the Republic of Ireland is projected to grow to 240 km by 2022, and a further 800 km of long-distance pathways has been proposed. The Irish government announced â ¬64m in funding for greenway projects in 2020, with further commitments to sustainable transport spending in the 2020 Programme for Government. In Northern Ireland there is 1,000 km of abandoned former transport routes with the potential for development as greenways. Many of the proposed greenway routes will need extensive works. In many cases, bridges and overpasses are in poor condition and will require complete reconstruction. Alongside the repurposing of disused railways as sustainable transport routes, there is an opportunity to reuse another type of repurposed infrastructure to create functional and attractive new bridges on greenways: end-of-life decommissioned wind turbine blades. Wind turbine blades are made of durable, lightweight and strong fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. They are difficult to recycle by conventional methods, but are ideally suited to repurposing. A US-Ireland-Northern Ireland initiative, the Re-Wind network, has created designs for several new artefacts from repurposed wind turbine blades, including a pedestrian bridge. In this paper we will show the advantages of the blade bridge design for deployment on greenways, show details of the testing and design of the worldâ s first repurposed greenway blade bridge, scheduled for installation on the Midleton-Youghal Greenway in Co. Cork in 2021, and outline the environmental and social advantages of using repurposed FRP blades in new infrastructure such as bridges. The paper also discusses the future expected flow of end-of-life blades from decommissioned wind turbines in Ireland and how this can be aligned with repurposing opportunities.

This thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author. Researchers can access this thesis by asking their local university, institution or public library to make a request on their behalf. Monash staff and postgraduate students can use the link in the References field.

This document is a synthesis of the research conducted by the EirWind project team, over a two-year period from August 2018 to July 2020. It presents a blueprint for consideration by policymakers. The approach to this research synthesis places the market as the central factor for analysis. As previously stated, Ireland has an abundant wind resource, requiring export markets to realise its considerable potential. The market opportunities described in this report, start with national targets for 70% of renewable electricity by 2030. In response, the Arklow project and the seven ‘relevant projects’ identified by the government this year, will be the game-changers; - the projects that will pave the way for future development. Effective delivery of the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) is central to this in the early 2020s. There is a considerable learning curve to be achieved in the decade ahead, to get things right for these projects which are at various stages of development. EirWind analysed three scenarios for production zones in the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic. The bottom-fixed offshore wind scenario in the Irish Sea, for a 500MW farm coming on-stream in 2025, is the most cost-effective with an estimated range of €51-66/MWh. Floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea shows considerable potential; an estimated Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) range of €63-90/MWh for circa 1GW coming on stream in 2035. For the Atlantic zone, the wind resource yields a high capacity factor (62%). The estimated LCoE range (€75-107/MWh for 1GW from c.2035) is higher than the Irish and Celtic Sea scenarios, primarily due to the harsher conditions reducing the number of weather windows available to complete offshore operations. EirWind findings indicate that there is a route to market for up to 25GW of offshore wind in Ireland, with 6.5GW to 7.3GW possible by 2030, taking development scenarios for existing electricity transmission and future green hydrogen production into consideration. The potential is possibly much greater, but whether the opportunity exists for 30, 40, or even 50GW depends on an ability to act now. The studies synthesised here suggest that pathways for FLOW and hydrogen need to be enabled, in parallel with support for the relevant projects, in the next 18 to 24 months. The forthcoming auction rounds for offshore wind will provide a competitive landscape for BFOW. A timeline should also be specified for technology specific FLOW auctions taking into consideration the pre-commercial status of this technology. Furthermore, there is a need to initiate a market development plan for a hydrogen economy which extends globally, as presented in this report. This will be a key enabler for offshore wind development at scale. Hydrogen has raced to the top of the green energy and green recovery agendas, in a manner that was not anticipated, when the EirWind research programme was being planned just three years ago. The European Union (EU) Hydrogen Strategy, published at the end of the EirWind project, states that from now to 2030 investments in electrolysers of the order of €24 to €42 billion would be required and this will support the hydrogen market development process by making hydrogen more competitive. In addition, investments of €65 billion are expected for the development of hydrogen distribution and storage. EirWind results show that hydrogen production costs of less than €5/kg are possible in an integrated production system which couples a 500MW wind farm to a large scale hydrogen production facility. The additional delivery costs result in a final cost to customers of €8-€9/kg of hydrogen which begins to look competitive with respect to petrol and diesel if a decarbonising subsidy is introduced. For the first step on the offshore wind hydrogen pathway, it is recommended that a 100MW pilot hydrogen facility, linked to FLOW is supported. This pilot could also demonstrate how green hydrogen can be used for domestic industrial processes, such as oil refining and cement manufacturing, for fuel cell electric vehicles in targeted transport sectors, and as an alternative to natural gas for home heating to complement electrification. The big prize is envisaged as bulk green hydrogen production from FLOW, (e.g. off the west coast of Ireland), for export. This would position Ireland as a net energy exporter whilst achieving long-term energy security. The challenges pertaining to such a growth trajectory for offshore wind, are described below in the Blueprint, and in more detail in the supporting technical reports and studies (e.g. studies on co-existence with fisheries, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), data, and social licence to operate). The challenges are not insurmountable, but they require government resources in order to be addressed in such a way that principles of sustainable development and community engagement are at the core. Therefore, the critical path to offshore wind development is contingent on decisions the government will make now, on investing in more personnel for key government departments and agencies. Up to 30 new personnel are recommended to be recruited in the next 18 to 24 months. This EirWind research synthesis strongly suggests that this is a sectoral investment worth making. The socio-economic study indicates that in 2030, 6.5-7.3GW of domestic offshore wind development would support between approximately 12,000 and 13,500 direct and indirect jobs in the domestic supply chain, with a total Gross Value Added (GVA) impact of circa €2bn for the period 2020-2029. Peripheral coastal communities could be transformed by new employment opportunities, however, the development of the supply chain needs to be undertaken in such a way that as much local content as possible can be secured. This study recommends at least three port clusters as catalysts for jobs and enterprise in the Irish Sea (e.g. Rosslare), the Celtic Sea (e.g. Cork Harbour) and the Atlantic coast (e.g. Shannon Foynes and Killybegs). A national route to market study should be prioritised, including a cost benefit analysis of national investment scenarios for large-scale interconnectors and hydrogen. Regional plans are further envisaged for the three production zones (Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and Atlantic). These should contain the timelines for roll-out of commercial activities and pilot and demonstration-scale projects. At the local level, investment in key ports is a critical enabler; coupled with the opportunity to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) e.g. into the Shannon region as a manufacturing hub. Exchequer funding and private investment will play an important role in providing the financial support to fully exploit the opportunity that the emerging offshore wind sector in Ireland represents for the taxpayer, the labour force and consumers. Given the strategic national interest of offshore wind, a task force is recommended to mobilise and coordinate priority actions in the months ahead. Route to market needs to be prioritised, to decide on how Ireland, with an offshore wind energy resource, far greater than it can consume, will become an energy exporter. European funding can also be leveraged, as the Green Deal provides a stimulus to rebuild the economy post COVID. The pandemic, climate and biodiversity crises, which served as the backdrop to the EirWind project, have accelerated at unprecedented rates. Offshore wind is only one part of the sustainability solution, however, it can play a major role in the future security and wellbeing of Irish people, for generations to come.

Both gas and electricity networks will play a key role in supporting the uptake of new technologies and meeting decarbonization challenges. In this regard, the integration of the electricity and gas sectors can optimise the assessment and usage of both grids, whilst continuing to meet the European energy policy objectives of sustainability, security of energy supply and competitiveness. Thus, the report aims to review the existing interconnection capacity between the island of Ireland and neighbouring territories, and new interconnection projects that have been proposed by several consortia. Both electricity and gas interconnections are evaluated and their potential for facilitating energy exports is discussed.

Renewable energy sources (RES) will play an important role in decarbonizing the electricity grid. However, high penetration of RES introduce new challenges to electrical power systems due to the variable and intermittent nature of energy production. Energy storage and flexible loads are ancillary services that can introduce reliability and resiliency to the electricity grid on a local scale. In this context, electrolysers have the potential to provide both energy storage and flexible loads through the production and storage of hydrogen. Moreover, hydrogen is considered an attractive and versatile alternative energy carrier due to its high calorific value and low environmental impact and it also can be exported as fuel to different markets. Although electrolysers are an interesting option to provide ancillary services, batteries also have the potential to compete in the new system services market as a clean alternative for energy storage and balancing services. Thus, the current report aims to review the capability of electrolysers, most notably Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysers (PEME) and Alkaline Electrolysers (ALKE), to operate under variable conditions and to provide system services in Ireland. Furthermore, a technical-economic comparison of the potential of electrolysers and batteries to provide system services is presented.