Nineteen engineers, environmental scientists and social scientists from China and the UK recently met at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban to discuss and plan the further progress of their joint ‘Investigation of the novel challenges of integrated offshore multi-purpose platform (INNO-MPP)’ project. The team are developing plans for multi-purpose platforms that integrate fish farming and renewable energy and that could provide resources and increased prosperity for island communities.
Following their (third) face-to-face project meeting, the team hosted a half day open community workshop that focused on their Scottish MPP case study. Ten expert participants from sectors including marine renewable energy, mooring construction, aquaculture, licensing and academia from across Scotland offered a number of observations, suggestions and warnings regarding technological, environmental and socio-economic aspects of the proposed MPP that the team will have the opportunity to address in the coming year to produce the most appropriate and useful MPP plans possible.
Apart from boardroom meetings the team also took the opportunity of being on the west coast of Scotland to visit two aquaculture sites to experience the challenges the MPP will have to offer solutions to. The weather did not let the team down and demonstrated the real conditions on the water in Scotland…
