Ireland is ‘ideally positioned to become a global market leader in wave and tidal energy production,’ according to Tony Lewis, the organizer of the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC) 2017.
The conference, hosted by University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland, is expected to gather more than 400 wave and tidal energy experts, entrepreneurs and research leaders, the UCC informed.
Running until September 1, 2017, the event is set to showcase Ireland’s infrastructure for wave and renewable energy to delegates from across the globe.
“Ireland imports almost 90% of our power. We need to develop our energy so that we have security of supply, but also to exploit the incredible market opportunity presented by the five-gigawatt target.
“With our outstanding infrastructure, research capabilities and abundant supply of wild ocean around Ireland, we are ideally positioned to become a global market leader in wave and tidal energy, as well as a provider of ocean energy technology and solutions,” said Tony Lewis , Beaufort Emeritus Professor at UCC who is often called the ‘father of ocean energy’.
European authorities have set a target that 5GW of energy must come from marine resources by 2050, according to UCC. Putting this in context, Ireland’s current entire energy requirement is approximately 1GW.
Supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the EWTEC 2017 Conference complements the activities of the SEAI which is helping to support Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
According to Declan Meally, Head of Emerging Sectors at the SEAI, the emerging ocean energy sector offers great opportunities in the move to clean energy and SEAI is driving its development in Ireland.
SEAI’s initiatives to advance the sector include funding the development of new technologies to harness ocean energy and establishing the test facilities and supply chain to support the sector.