Subsea Cable Monitoring Trials Wrap Up at EMEC
An Innovate UK funded project focused on developing a smart integrated monitoring system for offshore energy subsea cables has drawn to a close following tests at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.The new technology should ultimately lead to better maintenance and repair of underwater cables, reducing costs in the offshore energy sector.The 12-month Innovate UK funded CLEMATIS (Cable Lifetime Enhancement via Monitoring using Advanced Thermal and electrical Infrastructure Sensing) project demonstrated the technical and commercial viability of a new multifunctional distributed sensor system for the monitoring of subsea cable infrastructure in the offshore renewable energy sector.The CLEMATIS project included the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics and Synaptec, whose technologies were integrated into the system, and EMEC and SEA, who provided market intelligence, test equipment and facilities to enable the system to be tested in real life conditions.The project built on the 2016 desk-based ORCHIDS feasibility study which identified various breakthrough techniques that could be combined into a single power cable monitoring system and provide detailed fault prediction, dynamic thermal rating implementation and fault location.CLEMATIS progressed this initial study from the desk to laboratory demonstrations and early field tests both on and offshore.Field demonstrations took place at EMEC testing the distributed acoustic and thermal sensing capabilities with onshore sections of marine cable. Early success in these tests provided the impetus to test the system on an installed offshore power cable, thus expanding the original scope of the CLEMATIS project.In June 2018, the system was demonstrated on a live subsea cable at EMEC’s Fall of Warness tidal energy test site.The CLEMATIS system is a holistic monitoring system that exploits the optical communications fibre in marine power cables. The system turns entire lengths of power cable into reconfigurable acoustic and temperature sensors. A quasi-distributed electrical system makes use of the same optical fibre to interrogate passive electrical current and voltage sensors distributed throughout the infrastructure.This is the first time that such techniques have been combined into one monitoring system enabling end users to simultaneously monitor temperature and load on the energy network, and log any cable trauma such as anchor strike, scour related cable strumming or mistakes in cable installation.Potential faults can be captured before turning catastrophic, and major faults or outages can be located immediately with accuracy. The system will therefore bring about a step change in offshore renewable energy operations and maintenance, reducing the requirement for visual inspections thus cutting ROV, diver and vessel hire costs.Further to this, the studies found there to be potential for the acoustic system to detect much more than tidal flow or direct cable disturbance. Early results indicate the system may even be able to pick up external acoustic signals, for example from passing vessels and even interaction with marine mammals.The CLEMATIS project was led by Dr Henry Bookey, Fraunhofer UK Research:“Fibre communications are widely used in cables and umbilicals in oil and gas applications. The ability to monitor real time cable status can save huge sums in lost production through early indication of fault development and help avert major problems by diagnosing and pinpointing cable damage in real time.“The technology emerging from the CLEMATIS project will allow cable health to be monitored accurately and cost effectively.“As the project draws to a close, we are seeking opportunities and potential partners to take this solution to market.”
Washington D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that dairy producers who elected to participate in the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle Program (LGM-Dairy) now have the opportunity to participate in the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) for 2018 coverage. Sign-up will take place March 25 through May 10, 2019.Producers enrolled in 2018 LGM-Dairy, administered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), previously were determined by the 2014 Farm Bill to be ineligible for coverage under MPP-Dairy, a safety net program available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).“The 2018 Farm Bill included substantial changes to USDA dairy programs,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “This includes the ability for producers with LGM coverage to retroactively enroll in MPP-Dairy for 2018. It also integrated recent improvements to the MPP-Dairy in the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, beginning with the 2019 calendar year.”The MPP-Dairy program offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the national all-milk price and the national average feed cost — the margin — falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producers in a dairy operation. LGM-Dairy is an insurance product that provides protection when feed costs rise or milk prices drop. The gross margin is the market value of milk minus feed costs.This retroactive sign-up is only for dairy producers with 2018 LGM coverage who produced and commercially marketed milk in 2018 but did not obtain full year MPP-Dairy coverage. FSA will notify eligible producers by postcard and provide a one-time payment for all of the months in 2018 that had margins triggering MPP-Dairy assistance.“I’m pleased that dairy producers will now be able to take advantage of enrolling in both Livestock Gross Margin and the Margin Protection Program for 2018 coverage,” RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said. “The 2018 Farm Bill gave dairy producers more options like these and when combined with the new Dairy Protection Program offered by RMA, that means more overall coverage for dairy producers.”Eligible producers can enroll during the sign-up period at their local USDA service center. To locate your office click here.