The Role of Engineering Design in Offshore Renewable Energy

ABSTRACT:  Offshore renewable energy systems—like floating offshore wind farms and wave energy converter arrays—are widely hailed as the next revolution in electricity production. Given that the majority of the world’s population lives within 50 miles of ocean coasts, and the increased interest in designing and implementing energy systems near electricity demand, the potential of offshore energy is becoming more evident. The ocean environment, however, poses countless engineering challenges, from managing cables and substations, whether these systems are visible onshore or impede shipping and other port activities, to the potential environmental and ecological impacts of installing energy systems in the ocean. In this presentation, I’ll discuss the influence of engineering design on offshore renewable energy systems, the current state-of-the-art in design research for offshore energy, and promote new ways through which mechanical design engineers can apply design approaches to make these systems a reality.

BIOGRAPHY:  Dr. Bryony DuPont is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Boeing Professor of Engineering Design at Oregon State University. She and her students in the Design Engineering Lab and the Pacific Marine Energy Center work in design automation: using computation, simulation, and data to help designers make more informed design decisions. Dr. DuPont’s specific application areas of interest are all things green technology, primarily renewable energy systems and eco-designed products. She completed her PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in 2013.