1. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Information – The Other Renewable Resource Building on Success Presented at the BWEA Conference 26-27 March, 2003 By: F. Inouye Deltaic Systems Limited

2. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Conclusions Commitment and support by the industry Understanding and accepting the need to share information True collaboration requires fundamental cultural changes A unique opportunity in a unique industry Lack of commitment leads to failure

3. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 'The Government believes that, given its overall responsibilities for constructing a policy framework for offshore renewables, companies should be required to share their information with it.' Section 4.6, Future Offshore (DTI, November 2002)

4. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 The UK offshore wind energy industry is unique: –Relatively new industry in the UK –Financial and development support from the Government –Limited history/track record –Unprecedented availability of technology –Untapped resource with tremendous growth potential Building the offshore industry also raises a number of important issues: –Environmental issues –Public awareness –Development learning curve –Trial and error –Implications of failure Succeeding financially, technically, publicly, environmentally The Challenge Facing the Offshore Industry

5. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Types of Data & Information: –Graphics –Text –Tables The Benefits: –Creating an industry specific knowledge ‘community’ –Learning from other developers, industries –Avoiding mistakes –Building and maintaining industry credibility –Establishing industry standards –Sharing, collaboration Issues: –What Information? –Confidentiality – proprietary data –Data formats –Culture –Commitment The Role of Data/Information

6. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Renewable Energy and Information usage share the same process cycle The four stage process creates a ‘renewable’ knowledge database The process is applicable to individual projects and the industry as a whole Technology alone will not guarantee success Commitment is vital in maximising content value A Model for the Renewable Information Process GatherAccess Convert Utilise Renewable Cycle

7. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Current access to ‘relevant’ industry data is through a variety of independent websites including: –Crown Estates (Windbase) –BWEA, EWEA –MarLin (Marine Life Information Network) –OceanNet (UK MED) Quality and quantity of data gathered varies from site to site No current mechanism or structure to filter and integrate existing information into a relevant, usable format for the wind energy industry Gathering and formatting of data are key to ‘converting’ the data into usable information Integration of relevant data sources is essential for efficient and effective conversion The Model Process

8. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Existing initiatives provide a solid base on which to move forward Continue the building, refining, sharing processes already established Industry acceptance and collaboration on data requirements, formats Not re-inventing the wheel - Learning and adopting technology and applications from other industries Defining realistic goals and objectives for all parties involved Understanding and respecting the needs/requirements of the other community members Moving in the Right Direction

9. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Graphics (e.g. GIS, images) –Crown Estate: Windbase –Individual project websites –BWEA, EWEA –Various other NGOs Text (e.g. documents, reports, guidelines) –Crown Estate: Windbase –Individual project developers/contractors –BWEA, EWEA –DTI –Various other NGOs Tables (e.g. environment, planning, wildlife) –Crown Estate: Windbase –JNCC –Various other NGOs Examples of Existing Data Initiatives

10. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 A new industry – a new way of information management Steps to a possible way forward: 1.Project Champion (BWEA?) 2.Soliciting representative views on information from - Developers Government NGOs Public 3.Establishing a framework 4.Drafting, presenting and accepting the forward plan 5.Implementation A requisite change in information attitudes and culture Where to Begin?

11. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Possible Ways Forward… Build on existing graphical systems to provide detailed data

12. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Possible Ways Forward… Click through integrated graphics

13. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Possible Ways Forward… Build on existing databases to capture changes

14. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Possible Ways Forward… Monitor progress – operations, forward planning, statistical updates

15. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Possible Ways Forward… Build on existing document systems to create a knowledge library

16. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Possible Ways Forward… Collaborative data acquisition, creating comprehensive data libraries

17. BWEA Offshore Wind Conference – March 26-27, 2003 Conclusions Commitment and support by the industry Understanding and accepting the need to share information True collaboration requires fundamental cultural changes A unique opportunity in a unique industry Lack of commitment leads to failure