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doi:10.3723/ut.33.139 Underwater Technology, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 139–140, 2016 www.sut.org l

Outlook for the wave and tidal stream industry in the UK

wo years ago, I wrote a per- All the berths at Wavehub have

sonal view for Underwater been booked, with devices from A Personal View... TTechnology (Vol 32.1), Australia, Finland and Sweden bemoaning the costs of compli- reserving space. Fred Olsen’s ance with European Environ- BOLT device from Norway was mental Directives for the wave also tested at FaBTest, but has and tidal sectors. Alas, in January now been removed to a site off 2016 I gave oral evidence to the Hawaii. government’s Environmental On the tidal side, EMEC cli- Audit Committee, highlighting ents with single full-scale dem- the same issues – plus ca change! onstration generators include But if we put aside that major Alstom (France), Andritz Hydro financial barrier to progress, what Hammerfest (Norway), Atlantis are the prospects for this fledg- Resources (Singapore), Bluewater ling industry, where the UK is cur- (Netherlands) and Open Hydro Stephanie Merry rently the acknowledged world (S Ireland). Meanwhile, hopes for Dr Stephanie Merry is director of the leader? the first array of tidal generator technical consultancy, Focus Offshore Ltd, There were body-blow devices are pinned on Atlantis and sector advisor in marine renewables announcements in 2014/15. Our Resources’ MeyGen development for the Renewable Association (REA) in London. She has a PhD in Mechanical foremost wave energy develop- in the Pentland Firth, which Engineering, an MSc in Oceanography ers, Pelamis and reached financial close in 2014 and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechan- , went into and is now progressing build out ical Engineers. administration while Siemens with cabling complete and instal- divested themselves of the recently lation of devices imminent. purchased – and arguably the Do the facts above suggest a energy sectors are surviving. There UK’s most successful tidal stream ‘take-over’ of the marine energy are second generation wave device energy technology – Marine Cur- industry by foreign companies? developers, such as Alvin Smith rent (MCT). Although a If so, should the UK worry about (Searaser), Albatern (WaveNET), similar picture is painted globally – it? The current circumstances Checkmate Seaenergy (Anaconda) for example, with the demise of certainly reflect the situation in and Marine Power Systems (Wave- Oceanlinx, a leading Australian the 1980s, when the UK was sub). Although their progress in wave technology company – some world leader in wind energy but some cases is slow and under- foreign developers remain buoyant. diverted public funding and funded, there are cases of support They are also happy to use the resources to development of for them. For example, Swansea- UK test facilities at the European nuclear power instead. Denmark based Marine Power Systems has Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) recognised the potential of wind access to EU Welsh Regional in Orkney, the ‘nursery’ wave energy, purchased the intellectual Development Funding, and this energy test site FaBTest in Falmouth property rights, and provided will be used to support the manu- Bay and full-scale test site Wave- infrastructure and support for facture and testing of a 1:4 scale hub off the north Cornish coast, to companies such as Vestas to take Wavesub prototype. Also, Albatern prove their devices. forward the technology. Now, have secured £1.8 million from the These foreign developers with as much offshore wind Scottish WATERS fund for the include Finnish company Wello capacity already installed as the design, build and demonstration Oy, which first deployed its wave rest of the world combined, the of a large wave energy converter energy converter (WEC) at EMEC UK is forced to buy its wind tur- unit. in 2012, and the Belgian company bines from abroad. The UK can be more upbeat Laminaria, which has signed up But some small UK compa- about its indigenous tidal energy to test its WEC there in 2017. nies in the wave and tidal stream sector. The Welsh company Tidal

139 Merry. Outlook for the wave and tidal stream industry in the UK

Energy Ltd deployed its Delta­ the MeyGen project, it is vital recently to the support for solar Stream device in Ramsay Sound that other developers are poised and onshore wind projects. With- last December, overcoming a to take over as sector leaders, out this assurance, return on invest- number of financial and regula- should Atlantis lose interest or ment is not high enough to justify tory setbacks. Orkney-based Scotre- fail in its ambitious plans. the risk. I congratulate Depart- newables Tidal Power Ltd has But sadly, I still have concerns ment of Energy and Climate secured investment to demon- about the future of the wave and Change (DECC) on achieving the strate the world’s largest tidal tur- tidal energy sectors in the UK. £305 per MWh strike price for a bine, which is currently nearing France is poised to take over the ring-fenced 100 MW of marine completion at the Harland and global lead for tidal stream renewables under Electricity Mar- Wolff shipyard in Belfast. At 2 MW, energy, because the French gov- ket Reform. It no doubt faced the SR2000 follows on from a 250 ernment has provided excellent strong opposition from HM Treas- kW prototype, which completed support – high levels of capital ury, but the mixed messages that a two-year programme of sea tri- grant and guaranteed grid access come from government regarding als at EMEC in 2013. The larger (although the market mecha- renewables does not bode well. For machine is due to be launched nisms are not as good as in the example: early this year before being towed UK). Leases in the Raz Blanchard • The move from Renewable to EMEC for grid connected (French side of the Alderney Obligation Certificates (ROCs) testing. Additionally, Sustaina- Race) have been let. Growth in to Contracts for Difference has ble Marine Energy (SME), origi- Canada is also good, with Atlan- removed the obligation on util- nally from the Isle of Wight, has tis securing a feed-in tariff of ity companies to supply a per- opened an operating base about £292 per MWh for up to centage of their electricity from in , from where it will 4.5 MW capacity at the Fundy renewable sources. deploy an array of 5 PLAT-O Ocean Research Centre. • The refusal of the UK govern- tidal energy platforms at EMEC. Meanwhile, a number of Euro- ment to sign up to an EU SME has received £1.8 million pean maritime countries, as well as legally binding renewables from the WATERS fund, which Australia, are moving ahead more target beyond 2020 indicates a has also supported Nova Inno- successfully than the UK with wave lack of commitment to renew- vation in the Shetland Islands. power. Even the USA, with its focus ables. Agreement instead to a The importance of these small still on fossil-fuel use, is progress- non-binding target of emission UK tidal stream developers ing this technology, as the US reductions stems from the should not be underestimated. Department of Energy invests $1.5 government’s perception that Atlantis has gained something of million in a competition to encour- nuclear and gas (fracking) will a monopoly in the sector, having age new concepts, and 17 teams sort the problem. purchased MCT, together with are currently in the running. its consented deployment sites, The UK government needs to In the absence of a long-term from Siemens. Furthermore, the send strong, consistent messages UK government commitment to company has acquired two other that support will continue in the (let alone consented sites for tidal arrays long term for marine renewable marine renewables) and indeed from Scottish Power Renewables, energy. Although support at pre- a long-term overall energy strat- in return for a 6% shareholding sent is generous, potential pri- egy that cannot be turned over in its own Scottish project devel- vate investors have no confidence by successive governments, our opment vehicle, Tidal Power that this will continue in the long indigenous wave and tidal sec- Scotland Ltd. With all eyes on term – see what has happened tors will continue to struggle.

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