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The design of a brand-new European insurance fund for the ocean energy sector is underway, to slash the costs of the first commercial projects and accelerate the roll-out of this exciting new industry. Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) has appointed risk and insurance consultancy, Renewable Risk Advisers (Renewable Risk), to carry out the work as part of the EU-funded OceanSET project.

A well-designed insurance fund will mitigate the early risks of innovative ocean energy projects, for which investors typically demand returns of 10-12%. Access to project finance is a significant obstacle for wave and tidal developers, looking to leverage equity and crack a €53bn per annum global market.

De-risking projects through an insurance fund can act as a ‘golden ticket’ for the scale-up of ocean energy. By enabling more projects to reach financial close, this will generate the operational data and experience necessary to meet the needs of insurers, lenders, and equity investors.

The Basque Country and Scotland used the final day of the annual Ocean Energy Europe Conference & Exhibition to announce ‘EuropeWave’ – a new five-year collaborative programme that will channel €20m to the most promising wave energy concepts. The initiative is match-funded by the European Commission via its Horizon 2020 programme, and Ocean Energy Europe are on board as project partners.

Both the Basque Country and Scotland have long histories of industrial strength and today are centres of innovation. Both are committed to full decarbonisation and have developed long-term strategies to transition their energy systems.

EuropeWave will build on these strengths to ensure that the Basque Country and Scotland remain leading players in Europe’s emerging ocean energy sector and the wider energy transition.

Deploying ocean energy at scale requires simpler, faster consenting processes that are informed by the latest environmental research, according to a new report launched today. To date, there is no evidence that ocean energy has a negative impact on the marine environment – in fact, its role in mitigating climate change is clearly a positive one. Regulatory decision-making should be designed with this in mind, and provide an easier path into the water for these innovative technologies.

Authored by a sectoral advisory body, the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Ocean Energy (ETIP Ocean), the report aims to make the decision-making process more efficient and better informed. It calls for more real-world, long-term data and greater knowledge-sharing across projects, to strengthen the science behind consenting decisions.

The report advocates an ‘Adaptive Management’ approach that responds to new information over time, reducing uncertainty when it comes to environmental impact.

Equipping developers with the right information is also key. Another of the report’s recommendations is a ‘single authority’ – a national contact point, who supports developers in navigating the requirements. Companies could also learn from each another’s consenting experiences via a peer-to-peer platform, suggests the report.

Financial support to help developers take part in environmental programmes above and beyond the legal minimum is another vital aspect of improving the quality and quantity of data available. Many are SMEs and their resources are heavily invested in technology development, leaving little or nothing for additional monitoring programmes.

Felix Leinemann, Head of Unit at the European Commission, who launched the report, said: “As recognised in the European Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, facilitating access to the sea is a key factor in the development of a competitive European ocean energy sector. This report highlights the need to continue environmental monitoring programmes such as those supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, to accelerate ocean energy deployments across Europe.”

Lotta Pirttimaa from Ocean Energy Europe, the report’s author, commented: “As the sector grows, and both projects and machines get bigger, it is more important than ever that the consenting process is both fit-for-purpose and based on real-life observations. It is time for regulators to strike the right balance between diligence and simplicity when it comes to the way these processes are designed and implemented.”

Download the full ETIP Ocean report ‘Ocean energy and the environment: Research and strategic actions’

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Jason Hayman, CEO of Sustainable Marine Energy, is the winner of this year’s Vi Maris Award. The prestigious industry award was presented to Hayman during the annual Ocean Energy Europe Conference & Exhibition, being held online. Vi Maris, meaning ‘the power of the sea’, is an industry award established by Ocean Energy Europe, which recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual to the ocean energy sector.

Jason Hayman was nominated for over a decade of tireless work for the ocean energy sector. At the helm of Sustainable Marine Energy* since 2009, Jason has navigated both the Plat-O and Plat-I floating tidal devices through their demonstration phases, and is now gearing up to install one of the world’s foremost tidal energy projects in Canada.

The Pempa’q In-stream Tidal Energy Project is a multi-device array to be deployed in the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s highest tides. The project recently secured €18.4m in funding from the Canadian government and is destined to provide up to 9MW of clean, predictable tidal energy into the grid.

New IRENA reports forecast a 20-fold growth potential of ocean energy by 2030, providing coastal communities with a climate-safe roadmap for COVID-19 recovery

The CEO of Ocean Energy Europe (OEE), Rémi Gruet and the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Francesco La Camera, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the annual Ocean Energy Europe Conference & Exhibition. The partnership will deepen existing cooperation to accelerate the commercialisation of ocean energy technologies, by promoting the right policy incentives and innovative business models in Europe and globally.

Oceans hold abundant, largely untapped renewable energy potential that could drive a vigorous global blue economy, as two new studies, also released today by IRENA show. ‘Fostering a blue economy: Offshore renewable energy’ and the Agency’s ‘Innovation outlook: Ocean energy technologies’ find that in addition to providing mainstream power generation, a blue economy driven by offshore renewables will bring major benefits to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal communities.

The new European Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, published today, clearly acknowledges the massive industrial and environmental benefits that ocean energy can bring to Europe. Ocean Energy Europe welcomes this important step towards scaling up a brand-new European industry, while calling for swift, concrete implementation of the Strategy’s actions.

The Strategy’s commitment to support a pipeline of 100MW of ocean energy projects in the water by 2025, and at least 1 GW by 2030, will provide a boost to the sector in the coming decade.

A 2050 deployment target of 40GW provides a good starting point for building out the sector over the longer term. That said, the ocean energy industry has ambitions far beyond this target – and Europe should too.

There is no time to lose in mapping out how exactly the EU and member states will deliver this investment, so that Europe – and its ocean energy developers – can keep a competitive edge.

Remi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, commented: “The message from the ocean energy sector is clear: we are more than ready for this. We are confident the case for ocean energy will be self- evident once 100MW has hit the water. The Strategy is an encouraging opening to the coming decade – what we need now is to transform aspirations into actions. Offshore renewables projects bring long-term benefits, but they also take time to get into the water – the ocean energy sector, the Commission and national governments need to roll up their sleeves and start implementing the Strategy right away.”

Revising the State Aid guidelines to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and enable national support is another crucial component of the Strategy. Demonstration projects for emerging technologies don’t undermine competition and should be explicitly excluded from future State Aid rules.  

The promised platform on offshore renewables within the Clean Energy Industrial Forum (CEIF) can bring together the right actors from across Europe, but only with clear deliverables and an effective reporting structure will it be able to achieve its mission. High-level Member State participation is critical. National governments are strongly motivated to develop ocean energy, but they need to know that they won’t be investing alone, and that there will be a future European market for their companies. The CEIF can help manage both these concerns.

The strategy also highlights the importance of sea access and grid development for offshore renewables. A new framework for long-term offshore grid planning and clear objectives in national maritime spatial plans will go a long way towards providing the kind of regulation and infrastructure that the roll-out of ocean energy requires.

Leading Italian energy company Eni is joining Ocean Energy Europe, taking up a seat on the Board of Directors as a Lead Partner, the industry body announced today. Vincenzo Michetti, Eni’s Head of Upstream R&D will represent the company on the Board. With over three decades of experience at Eni, Mr Michetti brings his expertise in international energy production to bear in the exciting new area of ocean energy.

Headquartered in Italy, where it was founded in 1953, Eni is a global, integrated energy company working in 66 countries around the world. After a long history of activity, predominantly in the oil & gas sector, the company has, over the last six years, started a transformation that will lead it to drastically cut its carbon emissions. It aims to become a leader in the production and marketing of decarbonised products by 2050. Eni’s ventures into renewables, such as ocean energy, epitomise its new business model, with its combination of economic and environmental sustainability.

Eni and the Politecnico di Torino, in Italy, have recently inaugurated MORE – Marine Offshore Renewable Energy Lab – a joint research laboratory that aims to develop ocean energy to its full potential. The lab will fuel the expansion of research into marine energy sources, from wave power to offshore wind and solar power, ocean and tidal currents, and salinity gradient.

3 GW of ocean energy could be deployed worldwide, with costs falling to around €90/MWh for tidal stream and €110/MWh for wave energy, according to a new publication by industry body Ocean Energy Europe. The 2030 Ocean Energy Vision, launched today, charts an exciting path for ocean energy’s roll-out over the coming decade.

Over 90% of the world’s ocean energy could be installed in Europe over the next decade, reflecting the strong global position that Europe holds in ocean energy. The publication’s supply chain mapping clearly illustrates the industrial and social opportunity that ocean energy represents. Whether it’s cutting steel, designing gearboxes or installing machines in the open sea, wave and tidal farms will harness Europeans’ existing skills and help drive the economic recovery.

Laying the groundwork for a new European renewable sector today will deliver jobs, exports, industrial regeneration throughout the 2030s, and unlock full decarbonisation by 2050.

Ambitious targets for ocean energy in the forthcoming European Strategy for Offshore Renewable Energy, are critical to achieving this. Targets must be complemented by deeper cooperation between the EU and national governments, particularly on revenue support and permitting. Taken together, these policy actions will stimulate investment, get large-scale projects in the water and drive costs down further.

Leading French tidal energy developer HydroQuest is joining the Ocean Energy Europe Board of Directors as a Lead Partner, the industry body announced today. HydroQuest will be represented by Guillaume Gréau, Head of Business Development, who has 20 years of experience in shipbuilding and tidal energy.

Building on a decade’s experience in developing river current turbines, in 2016 HydroQuest added tidal turbine technology to its portfolio. Directly inspired by their existing river turbine technology, the OceanQuest tidal project won the ADEME competition “Energies Renouvelables en Mer” (Marine renewable energies) in 2017.

The innovative 1MW OceanQuest tidal turbine recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of continuous operation at the Paimpol-Bréhat site in Brittany, proving its reliability and efficacity. A partnership between HydroQuest and Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), provides HydroQuest with a strong production capability & expertise on the strategic site of Cherbourg.

The new generation of HydroQuest tidal turbines will be one of the most powerful available, with a nominal power of 2.5MW.

Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, underlined the value that HydroQuest will bring to the Ocean Energy Europe Board of Directors:

“The tidal energy sector is regaining momentum in France, so it is timely that we are now welcoming an important French developer to the OEE Board. This move confirms HydroQuest’s commitment to the technology and demonstrates that they are ready to advance to the industrial stage of development. I am looking forward to working with Guillaume to shape the future of this exciting sector, which can only benefit from HydroQuest’s extensive experience.”

Guillaume Gréau, HydroQuest’s Head of Business Development added:

“We at HydroQuest are excited to join the OEE Board of Directors and to play our part in realising the huge potential of tidal power. Four years ago, we took the wise decision to capture not only the energy of rivers, but also the immense power of the seas. It is a key objective of HydroQuest to be part of the clean energy transition, and together with Ocean Energy Europe and my fellow Directors, I am looking forward to writing the next chapter in the industrialisation and commercial deployment of tidal energy.”

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The new EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy must include a target of 100MW of ocean energy installed in Europe by 2025. This would be enough to power 100,000 European homes a year, and would pave the way for installing 3GW by 2030 and 100GW by 2050. This target would provide the political impetus and incentives needed to maintain Europe’s position as the global leader in ocean energy and create a new industry for Europe.

Four priority actions are needed to achieve this, according to Ocean Energy Europe. First on the list is the formation of a pan-European alliance of EU decision-makers, national governments and industry representatives. The alliance would be tasked with accelerating the sector’s development by providing access to national revenue support and making it easier to secure project sites.

Secondly, earmarking €300 million for ocean energy research and innovation over the next 5 years will support the EU’s green recovery objectives, cut technology costs and get planned projects into the water.

The third action, setting up a European insurance & guarantee fund, will also reduce project risks and make it easier for developers to access private finance.

The final recommendation is to develop an export strategy for offshore renewable technologies. A blend of European Investment Bank financing and guarantees for export-ready projects will make sure that Europe holds onto its world-leading position in ocean energy.

The importance of public support in kick-starting projects and encouraging private investment to create a truly commercial industry cannot be overstated. Since 2007, every €1 of EU & national public funding for ocean energy has leveraged €2.9 of private investments in the sector.

Remi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe commented: “This target is entirely achievable. There is a strong pipeline of projects lined up along Europe’s coasts – all that’s needed now is the right policy and market environment to deliver them. The new EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy is a huge opportunity for Europe to achieve a recovery that is both green and just.”

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