Great Britain, Ireland and Portugal, together, have 70GW of ocean energy resource potential, according to a European study.
Results from the pan-European EVOLVE has identified close to 60GW of “practically viable” wave energy and 10GW of tidal stream energy off the three countries.
The EVOLVE project, comprising academics, research institutions and technology developers, has provided a “firm evidence base” supporting the acceleration of ocean energy in Europe’s future energy system.
The spatial modelling study identified ocean energy resources of 34.8GW in Great Britain, 18.8GW in Ireland and 15.5GW in Portugal.
Projections further indicate that 10GW of ocean energy installed in Great Britain alone could save £1.46bn per year in power system dispatch costs.
Results show a consistent pattern with increases in ocean energy reducing overall system dispatch costs – including the cost of delivered fuel, and other variable operation and maintenance – and annual carbon emissions.
These system benefits are due to the offsetting of ocean energy availability with other renewables such as wind and solar.
The study found that a more diverse mix of renewables, including ocean energy, results in a more consistent renewable production profile which is better able to meet hourly electricity demands, key for reaching future international net zero targets.
The two-year initiative was led by Orkney-based Aquatera, with support from WavEC Offshore Renewables, Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) and the University of Edinburgh, along with wave and tidal energy developers CorPower Ocean and Orbital Marine Power.
EVOLVE Technical Manager Shona Pennock, who also serves as a Research Associate in Marine Energy within Edinburgh University’s Policy & Innovation Group, said: “The key headline from the EVOLVE Project is that including a higher proportion of ocean energy within our future electricity system consistently results in higher renewable dispatch, for the same total renewable energy availability, due to the offsetting of wave and tidal with wind and solar generation.
“The ability to dispatch more renewables also results in lower fossil fuel and peaking plant dispatch, and thus lower total dispatch costs and carbon emissions.”
Oliver Wragg, Commercial Director at Orbital Marine Power, said: “The net zero energy system of the future will need multiple forms of renewable energy generation.
“We know that the tides rise and fall like clockwork and can be predicated hundreds of years into the future.
“With the results of the EVOLVE project, we now also have clear projections for how the additional of predictable stable power generation from Europe’s fantastic tidal stream resource can help to cost effectively reach our net zero ambitions”.
THE EVOLVE Project has received support under the framework of the OCEANERA-NET COFUND project, with funding provided by Scottish Enterprise, Swedish Energy Agency and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.
The OCEANERA-NET COFUND project has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.