United UK wave and tidal sector to maximize its potential

The research conducted by Invest in Cornwall suggests the need for greater regional cooperation in UK’s wave and tidal projects to maintain the country’s leading position in marine renewables.

According to a study, more than two thirds (69 percent) of respondents believe that the UK is not currently doing enough to maintain its position as a global leader in offshore renewables, compared to just one in seven (15 percent) who believe it is.

France is perceived as the UK’s main competitor by 74 percent of the examined experts, followed by Canada and Scandinavia with 10 percent each.

The experts believe that the biggest challenge to the industry is the acquisition of public funding with 42 percent, compared to other 29 percent who consider the access to private funding as the greatest challenge. A fifth of respondents (22 percent) believe that Government policy will pose the biggest challenge.

Nearly two thirds (61 percent) of respondents believe the deployment of an array would help build market confidence in the sector.

Stuart Farmer, ORDP Programme Manager at Cornwall Council, said: “The consensus amongst industry experts appears to be that the UK wave and tidal energy sector – whilst still a global leader in its field – is far too fragmented to be able to maintain this current position.

“Although there are exciting projects based around the UK, the lack of a cohesive strategy across all national projects is creating a barrier to success and the industry needs to work together to govern its direction to maximise the huge potential and prospective output.

“By working under a single UK banner the industry would be able to maximise investment, accelerate technological advances and reduce overall risk.”

The research was conducted amongst 41 industry professionals at Wave & Tidal 2015, held at the EICC between February 25-26, 2015.

Johnny Gowdy, Director of Regen SW and Programme Manager at South West Marine Energy Park, added: “As the international market for offshore renewable energy grows it is imperative that the UK maintains its leadership position for innovation and technology development. We would therefore encourage the Government to support the industry within the UK by creating a clear route to market for wave and tidal energy technologies and providing funding support to enable the deployment of demonstration and pilot projects.”

Invest in Cornwall is an organization whose aim is to help companies and investors identify business opportunities in Cornwall, UK.

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Image: EMEC/Deployment of Andritz Hydro HS1000 tidal turbine