MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine hosted by University College Cork has been awarded €9 million for the H2020 project MUSICA to build a pilot multi-use platform which will be a decarbonising one-stop-shop for small islands, including their marine initiatives (Blue Growth) and ecosystems.
MUSICA which stands for Multiple Use of Space for Island Clean Autonomy will pilot a floating offshore platform which will provide 70% of the electricity and 100% of freshwater for a small island with up to 2000 inhabitants. The energy will be supplied via renewable energy and will be a combination of wind, PV and wave energy and the desalinated water will be powered by green renewable electricity.
Small islands normally pay double if not triple the cost for electricity and water supply, and often have very poor or intermittent supply. This project will provide a cost-effective solution whilst also providing independence and autonomy and will demonstrate that floating multi-purpose platforms can share the same space and work synergistically together, sharing supply chains and reducing operating and maintenance costs and solving the increasing demand for space.
Source: https://www.marei.ie
Image credit: MaREI
