Frost: Europe Leads Way in Ocean Energy
February 7, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
Wave energy sources are not only readily available, but are also consistent, predictable and have the highest energy density among all renewable energy sources, according to Frost & Sullivan.
The best resource is found between 40-60 degrees of latitude where the available resource is 30 to 70 kilowatt per meter (kW/m), with peaks of 100 kW/m.
Analysts said the potential worldwide wave energy contribution to the electricity market is estimated to be approximately 2,000 terawatt hours (TWH)/year, or about 10% of the world electricity consumption.
The marine energy sector is set to grow fast. But, as with wind energy, government support, financial investment and technological advancement are needed to see the marine energy sector reach commercialization, analysts said.
"Wave energy technology is being developed in a number of countries, such as Canada, China, Chile, India, Japan, Russia and the U.S.," said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Gouri Nambudripad.
"However, Europe is leading the way in innovative technologies, pilot projects, as well as pushing the existing technologies toward commercialization, including countries such as U.K., Ireland, Portugal, Norway and Spain. In tidal energy, Canada, Argentina, Western Australia and Korea possess the resources, but here again, Europe is a front-runner, with the U.K. and France seemingly promising."
"The U.K. - having some of the best wave resource in the world - is targeting 40% of its energy from renewables by 2050, of which 20% is to be sourced from wave and tidal energy," said Nambudripad. "The U.K. is estimated to possess the capacity to generate approximately 87 TWh of wave power annually, equivalent to 20%-25% of current U.K. demand."
Wave energy devices can be divided into three main categories: shoreline, near-shore and offshore devices. Shoreline devices are devices on the shore. Near-shore devices are those within 12-25 miles of the shore. Finally, offshore devices are those placed in waters of more than 50 meters (m) in depth and/or more than 25 miles from the shore.
"About 1,000 patents for wave energy converters are currently in the market and broadly fall under the above-mentioned categories," said Nambudripad. "With so many technologies around, there is no clear consensus on which technology will prevail over the others or which ones will be successful."
There are two main research centers in Europe focusing on the development and commercialization of ocean energy technologies. Analysts said the first is the European Marine Energy Center in Orkney, Scotland. It provides developers with sites to test their prototypes.
The other is the Wave Energy Center in Portugal. It provides strategic and technical support to companies, R&D institutions and public organizations. It also looks for international cooperation helping foreign companies test their devices in Portuguese waters.
The marine energy industry has a long way to go, analysts said, but ongoing research and government support should lead to improvements making these technologies more economically attractive in the future. Combined with intensifying company activity in this field, Europe is poised to be the place to watch in the marine energy arena of the future.
Source: Frost & Sullivan.