BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES

An unexpected obstacle to the development of hydrokinetic (wave, tide and current) energy: Mature New Energy (wind) and nearly mature New Energy (solar).

Why? Because they all compete for the same governmental and venture capital R&D money. Hydrokinetic urgently needs R&D to achieve cost competitiveness.

Gouri Nambudripad, Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan: "The marine energy sector has a number of technological hurdles to overcome, with the most significant being the ability to survive the harshness of the ocean environment…"

Nevertheless, hydrokinetic energy has a compelling logic and huge potential. Estimates put hydrokinetic energy’s potential capacity at 10% of world electricity needs and 20% of UK needs.

Nambudripad, Frost & Sullivan: "While marine energy currently lags behind many other renewable energy technologies, it is, over time, poised to catch up and provide meaningful amounts of electricity."

One estimate puts the money needed to get to 2000 terawatt-hours/year worldwide of electricity generation from hydrokinetic energy (around 10% of total consumption) at 500 billion pounds sterling (645 billion euros). Despite competition from the “bigger” New Energies, the hydrokinetic sector is attracting interest from private investors and is seeing growth.

The world’s first commercial scale wave energy installation has been launched in Portugal and the UK is busily testing competing technologies.

European Marine Energy Centre

UK Hydrokinetic Energy Atlas Atlas

click to enlarge

Marine Energy Market: Huge Potential for the UK
November 10, 2008 (PR Newswire/COMTEX via MarketWatch)

WHO
Gouri Nambudripad, Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan Energy & Power Growth Partnership Service Programme

WHAT
Nambudripad offers the Frost & Sullivan assessment of ocean energy as a predictable and abundant source of energy with the ability to supply approximately 10% of the world's electricity needs.

click to enlarge

WHEN
- The hydrokinetic energy sector is expected to become a significant contributor to electricity generation in the next 2-to-5 years as the result of sharply growing technological capacity, the support of governments and private funding.
- Hydrokinetic energy capacity can reach 3 gigawatts in the EU by 2020.
- Scotland could install 1.3 gigawatts of capacity by 2020.

WHERE
- The UK, Ireland and Portugal are seeing investment in hydrokinetic, and especially marine (ocean), energies.
- The United Kingdom is a leader in development and government support to the sector and is thought to have about half of Europe's wave energy potential.
Scottish waters coulod supply nearly 20% of UK electricity.

WHY
- Potential total value of world electricity revenue from wave and tide projects: 60-to-190 billion pounds sterling (77.40-to-245.10 billion euros)/year.
- The hydrokinetic is still relatively “untapped” and is currently drawing on government support and venture capital to expand and cut costs in pursuit of grid parity.
- The UK hopes to eventually obtain 20% of its power from hydrokinetic energy.
- The UK Carbon Trust predicts hydrokinetic energy could contribute as much as 1/6th of the UK's '20% renewable energy by 2020' EU target.
- Much of the recent funding in hydrokinetic energy is from private equity and venture capitalist firms via utilities that are partnering with developers to take prototype and test-phase wave, tide and current energy devices to commercial-scale operation.

Could wind and wave resources be developed together? (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Gouri Nambudripad, Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan: "After the loss of interest in the sector following the fall in oil prices in the 70s, marine energy has now been given a new lease of life…Countries in Europe that are rich in marine resources, both wave and tidal, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal are investing in and supporting this technology."