Aura Centre for Doctoral Training

Aura CDT activities:

I am a Cohort 2 Student Rep to the Aura CDT Student Committee.

I recently attended #PAMEC2024 in Colombia, where I shared my research about the climate change impacts on the offshore wind farm accessibility. Talking to researchers and industry representatives from countries like Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica proved again that including both existing, developing and potential offshore wind markets in my research was the right call. In places, where the offshore wind will take more than a decade to bring to the industrial scale, it is even more important to understand long-term risks from climate change. I also realised that in some places, like Chile, the theoretical offshore accessibility in the current climate is even worse than in Europe, which could become even more challenging under the changing climate. 

PhD Research:

I am researching ‘The future of global offshore natural capital with climate change‘ through a scholarship from the Aura CDT and ORE Catapult.

Background:

After completing a BSc in Electrical Engineering in the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, I came to the University of East Anglia to study renewable energy as part of my Masters. I completed my thesis on forest influence on wind farm performance in collaboration with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. During my Masters, I became passionate about renewables and sustainability and pursued my career in onshore wind working for a wind developer in Russia. As a project development manager, I gained experience in managing wind measurement campaigns and analysing data to estimate wind and energy resource at perspective sites.

Research Interests:

I am interested in how operational data from existing wind farms can be used to analyse wind turbine response to offshore conditions. I also think this data can be invaluable in evaluation and optimisation of models for weather forecasting and energy assessment, which, in their turn, might become crucial in estimating wind farm operational expenditure and planning maintenance with minimal cost and risks. I am also keen to learn about different climate change models and research how they can affect future offshore conditions in regard to developing new offshore wind farms and O&M planning and execution.

Why you applied for the Aura CDT:

While collaborating with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, I realised that the most interesting research questions develop from real-world problems. I found it very fulfilling to work on an issue which is relevant to the industry and can make a difference. Aura CDT is at the heart of the offshore wind industry and there are already partnerships with such big industry players as ORE Catapult, Siemens and Orsted. I applied to join Aura CDT because it looks like the perfect place for doing industry-led research.

My PhD Research: Analysing ocean wave data for improved planning of future offshore wind and other marine activities

Email: V.Bessonova-2020@hull.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-bessonova/

Instagram: instagram.com/vic.bess/