Wind & Marine Energy Systems & StructuresAcademic Partners
Iain Struthers
PhD Title - Carbon reduction potential of wind and marine energy systems and their interactions
At the current rate, 1.5°C of global warming will occur around 2040, with the Paris Agreement resulting in 3-4°C warming by 2100. Decarbonising power and electrifying energy end-use are two key mitigations in 1.5°C pathways.
Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) assess a system’s environmental impacts such as Global Warming Potential (GWP). GWPs for novel offshore renewable energy (ORE) technologies are higher than other low carbon generation forms, but still decarbonise power with median Carbon Payback Times (CPTs) around 1 to 2 years.
My PhD will research how much CO2 novel ORE technologies can displace from the GB grid, how this affects their CPT, and what role these technologies have for achieving Net Zero by 2050, by combining LCAs, marginal emissions analysis and energy systems modelling.
Email - iain.struthers@ed.ac.uk
Start Date - October 2018
Institution - University of Edinburgh
Degree - MEng Aero-mechanical Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Additional Information - Chartered Engineer with nine years’ industrial experience including offshore wind, marine energy, nuclear safety and hydrogen energy storage. I returned to full-time study to learn new skills and work on addressing the climate emergency.