RPS helps to set standards for wave data in new Australian industry-academic collaboration

We will be acting as a metocean data hub and supporting governance and quality control – a vital part of this important project to promote data sharing

Activity has now begun on the ARDC-funded ‘National Infrastructure for In-Situ Wave Observations’ programme. The project aims to create a national archive of real-time Australian wave data, while improving data availability to national and international stakeholders. Those stakeholders might include academic researchers, renewable energy developers and power companies, all with a need to understand wave dynamics with greater accuracy.

Where previously R&D would have been carried out by service providers alone, projects like this one are a collaboration between academia and service providers – aiming to enable richer outputs based on knowledge sharing. As the only service provider in the collaboration, RPS will draw on our extensive commercial experience and technical expertise.

We are taking on an important role in this project by acting as the industry ‘data hub’. Traditionally, data sharing was not the industry norm due to contractual and commercial disclosure reasons, but this is set to change as the renewables industry grows and other offshore industries explore the mutual benefits of wider data access.

RPS is ideally placed to act as industry data hub due to our 50 years of experience in this space, which includes setting standards for data quality and calibration. We will also play a vital governance role, leading discussion on quality control and sharing our current standards developed with industry. (Robust quality assurance ensures data is of high enough quality to guide development and operational decisions worth billions of dollars.)

Projects like this one with the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) will encourage commercial outputs and drive the future of wave data acquisition. However, outcomes such as new processes and agreed standards will also benefit future data studies on wind, currents, etc., all of which are valuable to the growing offshore renewables sector.

For more information, contact Greg Williams, Technical Director - Metocean, RPS Australia Asia Pacific, greg.williams@rpsgroup.com or explore our Metocean, Science and Technology page.