Marine Energy
There is an estimated global wave power resource of up to 10TW and up to 3TW for tidal power. Although a fledgling industry in the UK, Scotland is leading the way in terms of technology development, however, deployment is slow due to the high cost of demonstration and extraction.
Many different designs exist for wave energy devices utilising many different concepts for extracting the energy on offer. Tidal energy extraction devices tend to conform more to only a few basic designs, most being reminiscent of underwater wind turbines. However, the industry is even less mature than wave power and there are several companies vying to emerge as the commercial leader.
Scotland is already leading the way in the marine power sector with companies such as Pelamis, Aquamarine and Rotech and the established European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), a world-class wave and tidal power test facility in Orkney.
Many financial, technical and environmental barriers must be overcome before marine power can contribute significantly to the global energy supply. The resource is often located off remote coastlines making connection to the national electricity grid costly and technically challenging. This is a major threat to marine power and the entire renewable energy industry in the UK.
The costs of developing marine power devices themselves are also high. Technical issues surrounding generation and efficiency and practical issues surrounding anchoring, cabling, maintenance and survivability are all costly to resolve. The offshore oil and gas industry can provide solutions to many generic offshore issues and costs are expected to fall over time, however, at present government incentives are essential for the industries' survival.
Furthermore, the marine environment can be very fragile and Scotland's seas in particular are regarded as the most bio-diverse in Europe. Measures must therefore be in place to mitigate issues associated with underwater noise, collision risks, potentially harmful substances and any alteration or removal of habitats. Wave and tidal power schemes can also introduce a visual disturbance, potentially causing problems for seaside communities and other sea users. Shipping and fisheries can also be affected, not only causing problems within these industries but also creating wider issues for Scotland and the UK due to their economic importance.
SEGEC aims to maintain Scotland's strong position in this sector by facilitating meaningful demonstration and deployment projects, encouraging research, development and cross-border knowledge transfer and influencing legislation on a Scottish, UK and EU level.
SEGEC intends to act quickly to secure significant levels of EU funding to support projects in European waters, which will represent appreciable progress for the marine power industry.
For further information on SEGEC's activities in this area, please contact Tim Hurst, Thematic Manager for Marine, at tim.hurst@segec.org.uk.
