Narec, since 2014 known as the National Renewable Energy Centre, is a part of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, a British technology innovation and research centre for offshore wind power, wave energy, tidal energy and low carbon technologies. ORE Catapult's head office is in Glasgow, Scotland. The centre operates multi-purpose offshore renewable energy test and demonstration facilities.[1] It is similar to other centres, such as NREL in the US[2] and National Centre for Renewable Energies [es] (CENER) in Spain. The National Renewable Energy Centre is based in Blyth, Northumberland.
Originally known as NaREC (New and Renewable Energy Centre), the centre was created in 2002 by One NorthEast, the North East regional development agency, as part of the Strategy for Success programme.[3] In 2010 the organisation changed its name to Narec (National Renewable Energy Centre).[4] In April 2014, the organisation merged with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult to focus on the development and cost reduction of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy across the UK.[5][6]
The organisation was originally involved in a wide range of technologies, including:
In 2010, due to UK government cutbacks, Narec closed, sold off or separated parts of the business. Spin-off companies include:
Decerna – Working on energy efficiency, solar farm design, preparation of MW-scale battery sites, grid connection, and life-cycle assessment.[8] The company was renamed from Narec Distributed Energy Limited in 2022.[9][10]
SolarCapture Technologies – Specialises on bespoke and novel solar photovoltaic systems, including off-grid systems.[11] Renamed from Narec Solar in 2013.[12]
NCL Technology Ventures – A specialist healthcare investor,[13] originally created by Narec and Ashberg Limited.[14] Renamed from Narec Capital in 2013.[15]
Renewable Risk Advisers Limited – renamed from Narec Capital Risk Solutions Limited in 2012.[16]
Following its merger with ORE Catapult, the National Renewable Energy Centre now focuses on helping to de-risk and accelerate the development and commercialisation of the offshore renewable energy industry in the UK.
UKAS accredited laboratories with specialist test and measurement facilities to help develop technologies needed for developing power systems and exploring life extension opportunities for ageing assets.[23]
The Clothier Electrical Testing Laboratory was opened in 1970 by A. Reyrolle & Company. Narec took over the facility in 2004, to use it to test the robustness of electrical infrastructure offshore locations to onshore sites.[26]
Although one of the few high voltage testing facilities in the world,[citation needed] the facility was closed by Narec in 2011 due to a lack of government funding.[27] Many parts of the lab were relocated to Narec's main campus in Blyth. The ruins of the original lab are now the property of Siemens.[28]
Built in 2004, this £5m facility contains a low voltage electrical laboratory for the testing of connecting renewable energy systems to the transmission and distribution grid.[29] Some of the equipment and staff from the closed Narec Clothier Electrical Testing Laboratory were moved to this facility.[30]
The blade testing facilities at National Renewable Energy Centre are designed to test wind turbine blades up to 100m in length. Blades are tested using a Compact Resonant Mass (CRM) system. ORE Catapult is working on a technique of blade testing known as "Dual Axis".[34][35]
Narec staff have written papers which have appeared in journals and international energy conferences. These are mainly in the subjects of photovoltaics, wind, marine, and electrical infrastructure. A short list of some of these is given below:
Snapper, An efficient and compact direct electric power take-off device for wave energy converters.[37]
Availability and Estimation of Marine Renewable Energy Resources[38]
Marine Renewables: A Development Route Map for the UK[39]
Bivariate empirical mode decomposition and its contribution to wind turbine condition monitoring[40]
Experimental tests of an air-cored PM tubular generator for direct drive wave energy converters[41]
Fatigue testing of wind turbine blades with computational verification.[42]
Ensuring Reliability for Offshore Wind – Large Testing Facilities.[43]
Accelerating Technology Development for Round 3 Offshore Deployment.[44]
Electrical Network Testing & Simulation: An effective method of testing the fault ride through capabilities of Small Scale Distributed Generation[45]
Ensuring Reliability for Marine Renewable Drive Train Systems – Nautilus Testing Facilities[46]
LGBC Silicon Solar Cell with modified bus bar suitable for high volume wire bonding[47]
Process and device modelling for enhancement of silicon solar cell efficiency[48]
An intelligent approach to the condition monitoring of large scale wind turbines[49]
^Yang, Wenxian; Court, Richard; Tavner, Peter J.; Crabtree, Christopher J. (2011). "Bivariate empirical mode decomposition and its contribution to wind turbine condition monitoring". Journal of Sound and Vibration. 330 (15): 3766–3782. Bibcode:2011JSV...330.3766Y. doi:10.1016/j.jsv.2011.02.027.
^WIP Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co Planungs KG (2008). "EU PVSEC Proceedings". Eupvsec-proceedings.com. 1-5 September 2008: 3516–3519. doi:10.4229/23rdEUPVSEC2008-5BV.2.63 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
^WIP Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co Planungs KG (2008). "EU PVSEC Proceedings". Eupvsec-proceedings.com. 1-5 September 2008: 1677–1681. doi:10.4229/23rdEUPVSEC2008-2CV.5.28 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
^WIP Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co Planungs KG (2009). "EU PVSEC Proceedings". Eupvsec-proceedings.com. 21-25 September 2009: 1318–1322. doi:10.4229/24thEUPVSEC2009-2CV.1.55 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
^Cole, A.; Heasman, K.C.; Mellor, A.; Roberts, S.; Bruton, T.M. (2006). "Laser Grooved Buried Contact Solar Cells for Concentration Factors up to 100x". 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conference. pp. 834–837. doi:10.1109/WCPEC.2006.279586. ISBN1-4244-0016-3. S2CID24328214.
^WIP Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co Planungs KG (2010). "EU PVSEC Proceedings". Eupvsec-proceedings.com. 6-10 September 2010: 941–945. doi:10.4229/25thEUPVSEC2010-1DV.5.28.
^WIP Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur GmbH & Co Planungs KG (2009). "EU PVSEC Proceedings". Eupvsec-proceedings.com. 21-25 September 2009: 4276–4279. doi:10.4229/24thEUPVSEC2009-5BV.2.80 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
Companies with headquarters and/or registered office in the UK but no applicable energy operations within the country shown in italics1Ultimate parent company is not UK-based 2Integrated in the United States, no generation or supply activities in the UK