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OCEAN 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 At the end of 2015, global ocean energy capacity
remained at approximately 530 MWi, mostly in the form of tidal
power and, specifically, tidal barrages across bays and estuaries.
A commercial market for ocean energy technology has not really
developed to date because most technologies are still in various
prototype and demonstration stages. The one exception is the
application of established in-stream turbine technology in tidal
barrages. The two largest ocean energy projects are the 254 MW
Sihwa plant in the Republic of Korea (completed in 2011) and the
240 MW La Rance tidal power station in France (1966), both tidal
barrages. 2
In 2015, it appeared that the proposed 320 MW Swansea Bay Tidal
Lagoon in Wales would move forward when the UK government
issued planning consent in June. 3 However, in February 2016, UK
authorities announced an independent review into the feasibility
and practicality of tidal lagoon energy in the United Kingdom.
The review will consider the cost-effectiveness of such projects,
potential impacts, financing options and opportunities for
competitive frameworks for project delivery. 4
Most of the recent development efforts in ocean power
technologies are focused on tidal stream and wave energy in
open waters. Several new projects were launched around the
world in 2015, with most activity concentrated in Europe. As
in most years, ocean energy technology deployments were
predominantly demonstration projects.
OCEAN ENERGY INDUSTRY
The year 2015 presented a mixture of tail- and headwinds for
the ocean energy industry. A number of companies continued
to successfully advance their ocean energy technologies and to
deploy new or improved devices, but at least one company had
to declare bankruptcy.
The tidal industry experienced a number of advances in 2015
with the launch of numerous projects around the world. The
Netherlands, for example, saw the completion of two notable
projects. In early 2015, Tocardo (Netherlands) installed three
grid-connected tidal turbines in a Dutch sea defense dike,
in co-operation with the Dutch Tidal Testing Center, and the
company plans to expand this 300 kW installation to 2 MW
upon further evaluation. 5 Later in the year, with the support of
Huisman (provider of the turbine suspension structure), Tocardo
successfully installed a five-turbine array in the Dutch Eastern
Scheldt storm surge barrier. 6 The project has a power output of
1.2 MW, which is adequate to supply electricity to approximately
1,000 local households. Also in Dutch waters, the BlueTEC Texel
tidal partnership launched a floating platform that carries a
Tocardo turbine and supplies power to the grid. 7
Atlantis Resources (UK/Singapore) commenced construction at
the site of the MeyGen tidal stream project in Scotland in early
2015. 8 Later in the year, Atlantis completed cable deployment to
the MeyGen site, where the first four 1.5 MW turbines were to
be installed in 2016. 9 By early 2016, Atlantis was advancing on
construction in Scotland of one of the four turbines – a single
Lockheed Martin-designed AR1500 – while Andritz Hydro
Hammerfest was completing the other three 1.5 MW turbines in
Germany. Both turbine designs have an 18-metre rotor diameter
and are configured for both active pitch and full yaw capability. 10
Tidal Energy Ltd (UK) reached a milestone when its 400 kW
DeltaStream tidal demonstration device became the first fullscale
tidal device installed in Wales, in Ramsey Sound. 11 Also in
02
i This does not include all pilot and demonstration projects currently deployed, which may amount to several additional megawatts of capacity.
RENEWABLES 2016 · GLOBAL STATUS REPORT
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