The European Commission’s Blue Energy Communication was overoptimistic about the speed of the technology’s development and in the expectations for additional support from Member States and the private sector, says an assessment by the institution published on Tuesday 4 January.
This communication from 2014 aimed to realise the potential of marine energy in Europe’s seas and oceans by 2020 and beyond, and addresses six different potential energy resources derived from seawater: tidal currents, ocean currents, tidal range, waves, ocean thermal energy and the difference in salinity between seawater and freshwater.
According to the Commission’s assessment, the EU has successfully implemented the actions of Phase 1 of the Communication by setting up the Ocean Energy Forum and supporting the adoption of the strategic roadmap on ocean energy.
However, the results are more mixed regarding the actions planned for Phase 2.
While progress has been made in developing sectoral guidelines for the implementation of relevant legislation, no European Industrial Initiative was put in place between 2014 and 2020, as envisaged in the Communication.
The Commission says “factors such as high-profile failures in the ocean energy industry, the increased competitiveness of other forms of renewable energy technologies, as well as the somewhat poor understanding/awareness of ocean energy have had a negative impact” on the effectiveness of EU intervention in ocean energy development.
These factors “have had a negative impact on Member States’ and private investors’ willingness to support the sector”, the evaluation notes.
See the evaluation: https://bit.ly/3t0FtAn (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)