Government launches scoping review for marine renewables

As well as looking at the energy potential of wave, tidal-stream and tidal range technologies, the scoping exercise is also set to look at the realistic timescale of when multiple devices will be installed and commissioned. It will feed into data already gathered for the Offshore Energy Strategic Environment Asssessment (SEA), the Welsh Marine Energy Strategic Plan and other studies.

The Government said the scoping review – which would not include the Severn Estuary where a feasibility study is already underway – would also determine whether a full SEA for England and Wales is required.

The plans were announced by Climate Change Minister, Lord Hunt, at the British Wind Energy Association’s (BWEA) Wave and Tidal 09 conference.

“The marine energy sector has reached a pivotal stage with more and more devices ready to go into the water,” said Lord Hunt. “The screening exercise in English and Welsh waters is a significant step forward in our plans to harness the power of our seas and secure a renewable and low carbon energy supply.”

The BWEA welcomed the proposals. “This announcement is great news for an industry which is a growing UK success story. It will open Britain’s coastline and estuaries to clean, green energy that will help power a low carbon economy,” said conference chairman Alan Moore.

But the Renewable Energy Association (REA), which represents around 600 UK renewables companies, expressed disappointment at the proposal, saying it fell short of what was really required.
 
“It’s good that Government seems to recognise the need for an SEA but we’d rather have heard that the work was actually going to start. The screening exercise is an unfortunate delay and the timescale needs to be expedited,” said Steph Merry, REA’s head of Marine Renewable Energy.

The REA says a Wave and Tidal SEA is urgently required so that long-term leases can be granted for marine renewable developments on a commercial scale. Under present conditions The Crown Estate will only grant short-term leases for demonstration projects no larger than 10MW.  This, it says, offers practically no incentive to major investment or large utilities.

Lord Hunt’s announcement follows this month’s Budget, which allocated £1.4 billion to the UK low carbon sector, including £405 million to emerging green technology manufacturing, such as wave and tidal.
 
The BWEA believes the Government's scoping study will help secure the UK’s place as a world leader in marine renewables. It points to several firsts for the industry last year – including the  deployment of a commercial  tidal scheme, SeaGen, in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, and the first ever deployment of a commercial wave array in Portugal by UK-based Pelamis Wavepower – as evidence of its growing importance as a centre for marine technology.

“Britain is in pole-position to harness our natural wave and tidal resources, which across the world could potentially meet up to 20 per cent of our energy needs and build a thriving manufacturing industry here in the UK in the process,” said Moore.