The following is excerpted from the 2017 Edition of the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report. REN21 is a global renewable energy policy network based at UNEP (UN Environment Programme) in Paris, France. The definition of ocean energy used in this report does not include offshore wind power or marine biomass energy.
Ocean energy markets
Ocean energy refers to any energy harnessed from the ocean by means of ocean waves, tidal range (rise and fall), tidal streams, ocean (permanent) currents, temperature gradients and salinity gradients.1 Very few commercial ocean energy facilities have been built to date. Of the approximately 536 MW of operating capacity at the end of 2016, more than 90% was represented by two tidal barrage facilities: the 254 MW Sihwa plant in the Republic of Korea (completed in 2011) and the 240 MW La Rance tidal power station in France (built in 1966).2
Aside from tidal range facilities such as Sihwa and La Rance, which use established in-stream turbine technology, ocean energy technologies are still largely in pre-commercial development stages. Tidal current technologies are the furthest along, with the first tidal turbine arrays nearing commercial deployment. Wave energy converters are advancing to the pre-commercial demonstration stage, and some pilot projects have been developed utilising ocean thermal energy conversion and salinity gradient technologies.3 Since most of the advancement in the industry is tied to pre-commercial testing and development, the global ocean energy sector continues to rely on backing from national and regional governments in the form of funding and infrastructure support.4
A potentially significant commercial tidal range project, the 320 MW Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon in Wales, was awaiting final government approval at the end of 2016.5 An independent review into the feasibility and practicality of tidal lagoon energy in the United Kingdom, completed late in the year, found a strong case for a pioneering project on a scale comparable to Swansea Bay based on economic and decarbonisation benefits, among others, but it also noted the need for monitoring for potential impacts on marine life.6
A great number of research and development (R&D) projects is under way in a growing number of countries, with several new deployments of ocean energy devices in 2016. Most of the projects focus on tidal stream and wave energy, but some active projects also exist in the areas of thermal and salinity gradients. To accommodate R&D, ocean energy test centres are proliferating around the world, often with the active support of local governments.7 As of late 2016, projects were under way in Canada, Chile, China, the Republic of Korea, the United States and several countries in Europe.
Ocean energy industry
The character of 2016 was similar to the previous year for the ocean energy industry, with a growing number of companies around the world advancing their technologies and deploying new and improved devices. However, commercial success for ocean energy technologies remained in check due to perennial challenges. These include financing obstacles in an industry characterised by relatively high risk and high upfront costs and the need for improved planning, consenting and licensing procedures.8 As in 2015, at least one ocean energy technology developer succumbed to the economic headwinds.9
The tidal industry was again very active in 2016 and celebrated notable achievements, with several deployments in Scotland as well as in France and Canada. In Scotland, Nova Innovation (United Kingdom), with Belgian partner ELSA, claimed the distinction of operating the world’s first grid-connected tidal array with two 100 kilowatt (kW) M100 direct-drive turbines deployed in Shetland’s Bluemull Sound; a third turbine was installed in early 2017.10 Scotrenewables Tidal Power (United Kingdom) installed its 2 MW SR2000 turbine for the first time at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.11 Claimed to be the world’s largest tidal turbine, the SR2000 is an integrated tidal energy generator with two horizontal-axis turbines mounted on a floating hull platform.12
Also in Scotland, the Meygen tidal energy project reached a significant milestone in late 2016 with the first 1.5 MW tidal turbine installed and delivering power to the grid. The Andritz Hydro Hammerfest (United Kingdom) turbine fully met its expected power specifications.13 By early 2017, all three Andritz turbines were in place, and the first Lockheed Martin-designed (United States) 1.5 MW AR1500 turbine was deployed at the site, completing the first project phase.14 The project, which is to reach 400 MW over several years, is owned by Tidal Power Scotland – of which Atlantis Resources (United Kingdom) is a majority stakeholder – and by Scottish Enterprise.15
Tidal stream technology developer Sabella SAS (France) completed one year of testing of its full-scale, grid-connected 1 MW D10 tidal turbine off the coast of Brittany, in the Fromveur Strait, where it had supplied electricity to Ushant Island.16 Also in French waters, OpenHydro (a subsidiary of DCNS, France) installed two open-centre tidal turbines at EDF’s (France) tidal array at Paimpol-Bréhat.17 Another OpenHydro turbine hit the water across the Atlantic, where Cape Sharp Tidal (Canada) installed its first 2 MW tidal turbine at the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) development facility in the Bay of Fundy, supplying electricity to the Nova Scotia power grid.18 The project, which plans to install a second turbine in 2017, is a joint venture between OpenHydro and Emera Inc. (Canada).19 As of early 2017, several other tidal technology developers were planning for deployment at FORCE in the coming years.20
Wave energy also continued to progress in 2016 with several pilot and demonstration projects around the world, including in Spain, Sweden, the United States, the Republic of Korea and China. Spain saw its first floating wave energy converter connected to the grid at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP), in the form of a 30 kW prototype by Oceantec (Spain).21 Spain is home to the Mutriku multi-turbine wave power plant, the first such facility in the world. The plant has been in operation since 2011 and generates electricity by harnessing wave-driven compressed air (oscillating water column, OWC), similar to the new Oceantec device.22 On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, Eco Wave Power (Israel) connected a 100 kW array of its energy conversion devices to the power grid of Gibraltar in 2016, with plans to expand the array to 5 MW.23
Swedish wave energy companies also made progress. In early 2016, Waves4Power deployed its WaveEL wave energy buoy in Norwegian waters, and Seabased connected its 1 MW Sotenäs Wave Power array to the grid.24 The Sotenäs plant couples linear generators on the sea floor to surface buoys (a technology known as point absorbers) and is said to be the world’s first array of multiple wave energy converters in operation.25
In the Pacific, the Bolt Lifesaver device by Fred Olsen (Norway) was deployed for one year of testing at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Center (WETS) in Hawaii. The test was completed in March 2017 with the unit having produced power continuously over a span of six months.26 Northwest Energy Innovations (United States) continued grid-connected testing of its half-scale 20 kW Azura wave energy device at WETS.27 In addition, Columbia Power Technologies (United States) began land-based testing of its StingRAY wave energy converter at the National Wind Technology Center, due to its core similarities to direct-drive wind turbines, with open-water tests at WETS scheduled for 2017.28
Wave energy technologies are among the variety of ocean energy technologies being developed in the Republic of Korea. Among notable projects launched in 2016 was a study focused on integrating wave energy converters, such as OWC devices, with mini-grid connected energy storage on islands and other remote locations that have suitable breakwaters.29 The construction of a 500 kW OWC pilot plant near Jeju Island was completed during the year.30
In 2016, electricity started flowing from the first two turbines of a seven-turbine, 3.4 MW wave energy demonstration project in Zhejiang Province, China.31 China also installed a 10 kW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) device; OTEC uses the temperature difference between cooler deep and warmer surface waters to produce energy.32 At the start of 2017, the country released its 13th Five-Year Plan on Ocean Energy, which targets 50 MW of installed capacity by 2020.33 The plan also envisions expanded testing and demonstration facilities and a research focus on tidal, wave and thermal energy conversion.34
Plans and roadmaps to support the industry advanced in other parts of the world as well, often through collaborations between government and industry. The core agenda of the European Commission’s Ocean Energy Forum was completed in 2016 with the publication of the Ocean Energy Strategic Roadmap. Intended to establish a path towards a thriving European market for ocean energy, the Roadmap outlined four Action Plans designed to establish: a common technology development process to minimise project risk and waste; a European investment support fund for ocean energy farms; a European insurance and guarantee fund to underwrite project risk; and an integrated planning and consenting programme.35
Some examples of smaller-scale, cross-border co-ordination already exist in Europe. The FORESEAiproject, launched in 2016, provides competitive funding opportunities to ocean energy technology companies to place their devices at test centres in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and France. With a total budget of USD 11.3 million (EUR 10.8 million), more than half of which is funded by the EU, a first round of awards was made in late 2016 and another in early 2017.36
Another example of active support from government came from Wave Energy Scotland (WES), formed in 2014 as a subsidiary of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise of the Scottish Government. By late 2016, WES had awarded nearly USD 14.5 million (GBP 11.8 million) to wave energy developers.37 Another USD 3.7 million (GBP 3 million) was awarded to 10 wave energy projects in early 2017 to explore new materials and manufacturing processes.38 The European Investment Bank committed up to USD 10.1 million (EUR 10 million) in loans for the Finnish wave energy technology developer AW-Energy. The funding was expected to keep the company on track towards commercialisation of its WaveRoller technology, with a 350 kW full-scale device pending installation in Portugal.39
Project de-risking by governments can come in the form of direct research funding and also through the establishment and operation of ocean energy test centres. In 2016, the US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded USD 40 million to the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center in the state of Oregon to construct a full-scale, grid-connected facility to test wave energy technologies in open water. For the occasion, the DOE noted that the country’s technically recoverable wave energy resources are in the vicinity of 1,000 TWh annually, which is about one-quarter of US net generation in 2016.40
Mexico also completed preparations for the Mexican Centre for Innovation in Ocean Energy (CEMIE-Ocean), which aims to foster collaboration between academia and industry for the advancement of ocean energy science and technologies. The Centre’s activities were scheduled to commence in early 2017.41 Far to the south, Chile’s Marine Energy Research and Innovation Center (MERIC) started its work to establish a foundation for ocean energy development in the country. The centre was launched in 2015 with USD 20 million in funding for the first eight years of operation. Early research has focused on resource assessment, permitting and legal frameworks related to marine concessions, biofouling and marine corrosion.42
In a similar vein, two important reports examining ocean energy-related challenges were published in 2016. One report focused on the status of scientific knowledge on potential interactions between ocean energy devices and marine animals, such as the risk of animals colliding with moving components; various potential impacts of sound propagation from ocean energy devices; and any biological effect of electromagnetic fields generated from underwater cables.43 Many of the concerns associated with such interactions are driven by uncertainty, due to lack of data, which continues to confound differentiation between real and perceived risks.44
The other report addressed the challenges of consenting processes for ocean energy development, where lack of clarity in the process may create potential barriers to the industry. The report's recommendations include the need to acknowledge and define the role of marine spatial planning; to clarify jurisdictions of different authorities; and to co-ordinate and streamline licensing and consenting processes.45
As in 2015, a UK ocean energy company was forced into administration mere months after deploying its device. In late 2015, Tidal Energy Ltd. had launched its 400 kW DeltaStream tidal demonstration device off the coast of Wales, but by October 2016 difficult economic tides forced the company to seek new ownership.46
