Page 55 - European Energy Innovation - Summer 2016 publication
P. 55
Summer 2016 European Energy Innovation 55
OCEAN ENERGY
Courtesy of OpenHydro
it produces electricity during different Elsewhere, buoyed by support from STAYING AHEAD OF THE
times and is very predictable. the EU’s NER300 programme, AW COMPETITION
Energy are preparing to deploy their Ocean energy needs the EU, the
2016: A BREAKTHROUGH YEAR FOR WaveRoller technology in a first-of-a- EU needs ocean energy. The size
OCEAN ENERGY kind demonstration farm in Peniche, of the prize is nothing short of new
Ocean energy is experiencing a Portugal. manufacturing sector firmly based in
breakthrough year in 2016, with more Europe, something the EU has been
production capacity hitting the water INCREASING EU SUPPORT direly lacking recently.
than in the entire decade before. EU has begun to understood the
timeliness of the opportunity presented Actions to achieve it should be
The first phase of Atlantis Resource’s by this exciting emerging sector and scaled accordingly, and rapidly. The
Meygen project, the first tidal stream Political and financial support for the EU’s competition, namely China and
farm in the world, will come online sector has increased accordingly: The the US, are wide awake to the same
this summer in northern Scotland. amount of funding awarded annually opportunities and are scrambling to
This 6MW farm will pave the way to ocean energy projects has increased claw back Europe’s technology lead. l
for the full 400MW project in the by 350% in Horizon 2020 (2014-2015)
coming years. Similarly in Northern over its predecessor FP7. Rémi Gruet
France, EDF’s Paimpol-Brehat tidal
farm will be installed in the coming Pushed by the European Commission,
months. Learnings from the project will the European Investment Bank is
inform larger French tidal ambitions showing a willingness to engage with
in Normandy and the creation of an ocean energy project developers
industry there. for the first time. A pilot programme
launched by the bank last year to fund
In wave energy, the industry leaders first-of-a-kind energy projects is a step
are making steady progress towards in the right direction. The industry
commercialisation, while innovative welcomes this engagement.
new entrants are attracting a good
deal of attention. Much of the activity Political visibility for the sector has been
is centred on Wave Hub in the south enhanced by the Commission’s Ocean
of England, where, amongst others, Energy Forum. Now in its final stage,
Fortum’s CEFOW project will deploy the Forum proposes a six-point plan
three of Wello’s Penguin wave to take the industry further towards
energy convertors in the next year. commercialisation.
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
