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www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 21 can impact upon uptime and overall production. • Installation - major factors here are fabrication, transportation, foun- dations or moorings, time required for installation and network integra- tion. Minimising the amount of time and work required to install and com- mission is a major cost (and risk) ben- efit. O&M access - some devices have functionality to raise the unit out of the water entirely and hold it fixed in place. This greatly eases O&M activi- ty and could reduce O&M time and therefore downtime. Other devices are operable in location but others will have to be relocated onshore for major work. This is costly but pro- vides a safer working environment. It also may enable a fuller inspection of the device whilst out of the water than would be possible during rou- tine offshore maintenance. Modularization - devices with easily 'swappable' components can offer quicker and safer O&M, lower- ing costs offshore, potentially with overall cost savings. Redundancy - Providing redun- dancy in the device may be costly but can prevent expensive intervention and the associated loss of production. However, this may not be possible/desirable and performing remedial work on site or onshore may be preferable. Whilst this is usually considered on a device level, looking at it on a project level, it is possible to see some projects deploying 'extra' devices to bring online in case of the failure of one of the array's devices. This is more likely with smaller units. O&M strategy - the scheduling of O&M activities is of key impor- tance. Unscheduled downtime must be avoided by ensuring the upkeep of the device, but this must be balanced against the cost and risk of offshore O&M activity. Remote monitoring is particularly significant here. The World Wave and Tidal Market Report 2009-2013 forms part of a series of reports that are used by com- panies in over 50 countries globally. These include leading corporations, investment banks and agencies of gov- ernments. The report considers the prospects for this growing market and forecasts activity through to 2013. The report also reviews technologies and drivers and details prospects. Further information is available at www.dw-1.com. The authors can be contacted via publications@dw- 1.com or +44 1227 780999. MTR#3 (18-33).qxd 3/27/2009 1:58 PM Page 21
