Page 36 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2020 publication

36 Spring 2020 European Energy Innovation
OCEAN ENERGY
WaveRoller construction. Photo: ©AW Energy
deployment and demonstration of
new technologies. Europe is currently
leading the global pack in ocean
energy, with more than half of wave
and tidal patents worldwide held by
European companies.
European ocean energy players on
an upward curve
In recent years, the European tidal
energy sector has been adding
steadily to its roll call of projects, with is also taking a novel approach, by
new machines hitting the water every
year. At the start of 2020, the total
amount of power generated by tidal
energy in Europe hit a record 50 GWh
– enough to power 4,000 homes for
a year. In wave power technology,
engineering advances mean that new
devices are not only producing power,
but also becoming more resilient
against the ravages of the sea.
Financing innovation and innovative
financing
Since 2014, the EU has invested
€250m in ocean energy projects
through Horizon 2020, INTERREG
and LIFE programmes. This support
keeps Europe at the cutting edge of
technology development, acts as
important leverage for the sector to
1 ‘Ocean Energy Roadmap’ Ocean Energy Forum, November 2016
http://www.oceanenergy-europe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/OEF-final-strategic-roadmap.pdf
secure private financing, and gets
pilot farms in the water.
As the sector has developed, so too
have the financing tools on offer at
EU level. The European Innovation
Council’s Accelerator, and the new
Blue Invest Platform, both offer an
unusual blend of grants and equity.
The forthcoming Innovation Fund
offering grants that can be used as
revenue support to get demonstration
projects up and running.
Rest of the world is hot on our heels
Beyond Europe, other countries are
catching up. China, Canada and the
US have recently made great strides
in developing ocean energy, driven
by public sector investment. PLAT-I
is not the only European technology
to find a home in Canada; other tidal
energy schemes are also underway in
Nova Scotia.
Like Europe, Canada boasts some
of the strongest tidal currents in the
world, but it also has something
Europe does not: targeted feed-in
tariffs for tidal energy.
Clear seas ahead?
What the ocean energy sector needs
now is market visibility. The EU’s
strong commitment to developing
ocean energy must not waver;
national governments must also
provide a level playing field through
targeted revenue support schemes.
It is no coincidence that project
deployments are shifting towards
those countries whose support
schemes guarantee electricity prices
and mitigate risk. It’s now up to
Europe to make sure it doesn’t lose
the head start that it has worked so
hard to secure. ●
Ocean Energy Europe
Renewable Energy House
Rue d’Arlon 63-67 B-1040, Brussels
+32 (0) 24001043
www.oceanenergy.eu
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu