Brussels, 20/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 January, the European Commission adopted an action plan to facilitate the further development of the renewable ocean energy sector in Europe. Energy from the sea covers several different sectors: energy from sea currents and waves, thermal energy from the sea and energy from algae (marine biomass).
The action plan includes two different phases for encouraging this nascent “blue energy” sector: setting up an ocean energy forum (2014-2016), bringing together the different stakeholders (business leaders, fund providers, governments and NGOs) to enhance capacity and promote cooperation, as well as the sector industrialisation phase that will take place between 2017 2020.
Ocean energy covers all technologies to harvest renewable energy from our seas and oceans, other than offshore wind. Using this kind of energy would help “de-carbonise” the EU economy and provide renewable energy that is both safe and reliable.
Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, stated that the sector was very promising and that blue energy could, according to estimates, create “40,000 new high-quality jobs” by 2035. The commissioner also said that this sector could provide up to 80% of the EU's energy requirements by 2030. She also said that the EU could thus improve the security of its energy supplies.
Despite its undeniable potential, this new sector faces a number of challenges if it is to reap the considerable hoped-for economic and environmental advantages and become competitive with regard to other forms of electricity generation. The four problems identified are: 1) technological costs are high and access to funding is difficult; 2) there are substantial infrastructure barriers, such as grid connection issues or access to adequate port facilities and specialised vessels; 3) there are administrative barriers, such as complex licensing and authorisation procedures, which can delay projects and raise costs; 4) and there are environmental issues to be overcome, including the need for more research and better information on environmental impacts.
Ocean energy could add to energy production from other sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.
Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy, stated that the power of the oceans and seas had to be used to produce electricity. He also said that technologies had to be developed that European industry could export abroad. The oceans can produce energy 24 hours a day, unlike wind and solar power. Temperature differences can also be a source of energy production, the commissioner said. According to Oettinger, energy from the ocean presents huge advantages: it is close to hand, it can be used ecologically to produce electricity uninterruptedly and it is a perfect complement to wind and solar power. He indicated that transmission networks had to be created to channel this energy (to the cities) and that such projects were included in the Connecting Europe Facility. The commissioner concluded that this kind of energy did not have to add enormous additional costs and that the infrastructure for producing this new kind of electricity would be created. (LC/transl.fl)