The development of ocean energy technologies is hindered by four main bottlenecks: technology development, finance and markets, environmental and administrative issues and grid availability. At EU and global level a number of initiatives are providing ocean energy developers different platforms to overcome existing barriers. Concerted efforts by industry, academia along with the support of policy makers will be fundamental to identify common solutions that would allow the establishment of the ocean energy market.
In the EU, existing and available mechanisms appear to be adequate to sustain the growth of the sector, though it is essential they can be tailored to the needs of the various technologies and their status. The implementation of technology-specific support mechanisms and achievable KPIs could provide further scope for the progress of ocean energy technology. The harmonisation of policy mechanisms and consenting process at MS level is expected to help the sector overcoming administrative and environmental issues; while the shift towards an integrated European Energy system may provide the required support in overcoming infrastructural barriers with regards to grid availability.
From a policy standpoint, 2014 was a key year for the sector with the publication of the Blue Energy Communication, followed up by the launch of the Ocean Energy Forum and the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Ocean Energy). These initiatives provide a framework for the sector to address common issues and identify common solutions towards the commercialisation of its technologies. In addition, the number of ocean energy arrays supported by the EU NER 300 programme expected to be operational by 2018 has risen to five.
On the other hand, the slow technological progress combined with difficulties in attracting funds and financing for first of a kind array demonstration projects is hindering investors’ confidence in the sector. The high risk associated with projects coupled with delays in market-formation have forced key developers and OEM to either downsize or withdraw their interest in the developing ocean energy technologies. Furthermore, only about 170 MW of ocean energy are expected to be operational globally by 2020.
The ocean energy market is still in its infancy, and its creation requires developers to prove the reliability of their technologies by increasing operational hours and the development of demonstration arrays. Currently 30 tidal companies and 45 wave energy companies are at an advanced stage of development. An increasing number of technologies are nearing pre-commercial array demonstration. The Meygen is the first large tidal energy project that has reached financial close and it is expected to be operational by 2016. Wave energy demonstration arrays are currently being developed in Australia and Europe. Taking into account the existing pipeline of ocean energy projects which have been awarded funds, Europe could see up to about 57 MW of tidal and 26 MW of wave energy capacity installed operational by 2020.
Europe represents the main hub for R&D on ocean energy technologies. A number of policies and mechanisms have been put in place to support the development of ocean energy, both at EU and MS level. The successful establishment of the ocean energy market requires that incentive policies and strategies are matched to the actual level of technology maturity, and that lessons learned are shared among developers and policymakers in order to remove administrative barriers and streamline consenting.