Abstract
In 2015 the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the Ocean Energy Systems (OES) unanimously agreed to request the IEA to extend its mandate for a 4th 5-year term. Its present term will end on 28 February 2017. As part of the request, in late 2015, the OES commissioned an external expert to assist the ExCo in the preparation of a 4th Term Strategic Plan (2017-2021), which should be submitted in 2016 to the IEA Committee on Energy Research and Technology (CERT).
The OES 2015 membership remained steady at 23 (with Australia inactive during 2015). This membership, from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania, provides a broad international base of experience and knowledge. Information sharing and collaboration on a wide range of research and development projects is therefore possible, aiding in our efforts to overcome technical and other challenges to advance the sustainable development of ocean energy worldwide and so contribute to the mitigation of climate change.
National governments appoint a Contracting Party to represent the country in the Executive Committee and there is a diversified representation of interests: governmental departments, utilities, universities and research organizations, energy agencies and industry associations. By information sharing and collaborative activities, participants gain an international perspective on ocean energy issues, opportunities and present challenges.
This Executive Summary provides an introduction to, and brief summary of, the 2015 OES Annual Report. It synthesizes progress with the OES collaborative activities and outlines the political initiatives and demonstration projects worldwide presented by each OES member country.
Interviews to Organisations Funding Ocean Energy
As in previous years this Annual Report presents a summary from each OES member on their national programme activities. Further, a contribution by acknowledged experts from funding organisations is included. Representatives from five organisations funding ocean energy projects (US DOE, Wave Energy Scotland, Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association, the European Commission and the Inter-American Development Bank) were invited to respond to four questions about funding approaches to ocean energy projects.
Overview of OES Collaborative Activities
The OES held two ExCo Meetings in 2015: The 28th and 29th meetings were convened in Kassel, Germany (12 – 13 May 2015), and Cancun, Mexico (11 – 12 November 2015).
Membership of the OES involves a commitment to national participation in certain collaborative research activities. Some of these research projects generally have duration of a number of years and are led by an ‘Operating Agent’ from a member country, responsible for coordinating each project and reporting on progress to the ExCo. Under the OES nomenclature these research projects are defined as ‘Annexes’ to the work programme and are initiated whenever three contracting parties support a proposal and sufficient funding is raised.
The ExCo has also introduced some shorter term projects (approximately 1 year duration) funded by the Common Fund and based on a tender procedure. They can be conducted by a group of members and may include participation of external experts invited by the Delegates. In 2015, OES participants worked on the folllowing specific research topics:
TASK 4 Assessment of Environmental Effects and Monitoring Efforts for Ocean Wave, Tidal and Current Energy Systems (Annex IV) - providing access to knowledge and information related to research, monitoring, and evaluation of environmental effects of offshore renewable energy. Tethys, the online knowledge management system which supports Annex IV material, continued to expand and to increase user interactions.
TASK 5 The Exchange and Assessment of Ocean Energy Device Project Information and Experience (Annex V) - promoting the sharing, interchange, evaluation, and compilation of information on OES projects from participating member countries. To this end, Annex V has been sponsoring workshops, bringing international experts together to exchange data that can be used to develop an assessment of the fundamental knowledge of ocean energy.
TASK 6 Worldwide Web GIS Database for Ocean Energy – interactive web based GIS mapping application launched in 2014 with detailed global information related to ocean energy. Information has been continuously updated on ocean energy facilities, resources, relevant infrastructure, in conjunction with the respective location on a global map.
TASK 7 Cost of Energy Assessment for Wave, Tidal and OTEC – This project was set out to deliver the assessment of a credible LCOE based on international projects, and the likely future LCOE reduction trajectories of ocean energy projects at a global scale. The final report of this study was published in 2015 providing an authoritative view on what cost reductions are feasible at a global level, taking into account the experience from other technologies, and further examining opportunities for cost reduction.
TASK 8 Consenting Processes for Ocean Energy on OES member countries – with inputs from all OES member countries providing a coherent overview of several aspects of the consenting processes, addressing: Marine Spatial Planning policies and site selection for ocean energy development, regulatory issues, environmental impact assessment requirements, consultation and challenges to the consenting process.
TASK 9 International Ocean Energy Technology Roadmap - in line with the IEA own technology roadmapping work, this project was initiated in 2015 and will be concluded in 2016. The overall objective of the ocean energy technology roadmap is to achieve LCOE targets within the ocean energy sector. This requires a special focus on two key areas: Reliability Improvement and Performance Improvement.
Further, a number of new proposals for R&D projects on topics of common interest to participants have been discussed by the ExCo, and a few proposals are under development to be discussed in 2016 and eventually approved during the year, including:
- Investigation and Evaluation of OTEC Resource (submitted by Japan)
- Ocean Renewable Energy for Island Electrification (submitted by Singapore)
- Best Practice for International Open Water Test Centres (submitted by UK)
- Wave Energy Modelling Verification and Validation (submitted by Denmark)
- Tidal Current Energy Modelling Verification and Validation (submitted by Singapore)
- Performance of Mooring Systems for Ocean Energy Systems (submitted by Denmark)
- International Assessment of Technology Performance Level (TPL) and Technology Readiness Level (TRL), (submitted by USA & Denmark)
The OES has been continuously interacting with the IEA and with other international organizations and networks, including: INORE, OECD, IRENA, IEC-TC 114, European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) Ocean Energy Joint Programme, OCEANERA-NET and Ocean Energy Forum.