Abstract
Appreciating the kind words of our retiring Chairman, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Dr. John Huckerby for four inspiring years, in which he consistently put his efforts into enhancing and improving the OES activities and involvement.
The last year had a number of interesting ocean energy developments and some topics of actual importance are reflected in this 2012 Annual Report of Ocean Energy Systems (OES).
Ocean Energy Systems (OES) is the short name for the international technology initiative on Ocean Energy under the IEA, known as the ‘Implementing Agreement on Ocean Energy Systems’.
Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter addressing the organisational aspects of OES.
Chapter 2 provides information about present membership, a brief description of the current work programme, collaborative activities with the IEA and sponsorship initiatives in which the Executive Committee (ExCo) was involved during the year.
Key accomplishments during 2012 are presented in Chapter 3. 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 co-ordinating each project and reporting on progress to the ExCo. Under the OES nomenclature these research projects are defined as ‘Annexes’ to the Implementing Agreement. The ExCo has also introduced some shorter-term projects (approximately 1 year duration) called ‘Activities’. During 2012 the following research projects and activities were conducted:
- Communication and outreach activities, including presentations at 13 international ocean energy conferences around the world;
- Phase II of the International Vision brochure and the respective modelling work in collaboration with the IEA modelling team;
- Research project “Assessment of Environmental Effects and Monitoring Efforts for Ocean Wave, Tidal and Current Energy Systems” (Annex IV to be concluded in March 2013);
- Research project “The Exchange and Assessment of Ocean Energy Device Project Information and
Experience” (Annex V initiated in 2012 and running for 3 years).
Under Chapter 4 each OES member country presents its national programme activities over the last year, including The Netherlands and France as Observers.
As in previous years Chapter 5 presents invited papers prepared by subject experts. This year we present four papers based upon a theme of “Development of the International Ocean Energy Industry – Performance Improvements and Cost Reductions”.
In the first article “Cost Reduction Pathways for Wave Energy”, Mirko Previsic (Re Vision Consulting), discusses important considerations for evaluating technologies in the US wave energy sector, such as projected costs, uncertainty ranges in the cost assessment process, economies of scale, learning curves and key areas in which cost reductions potentially can be attained within the near-term. He further highlights the need for strong RD&D programs to ensure technology innovation, concluding that “Nurturing this innovation potential and carefully benchmarking novel concepts and technologies will be critically important over the coming years if substantial cost reductions are to be attained.”
The title of the second invited contribution is “ESB Ocean Energy Projects – A Utility Perspective on Cost and Performance Requirements”. The authors, John Fitzgerald and Fergus Sharkey of ESB (the Electricity Supply Board; Ireland’s largest electricity utility) describe the cost, performance and revenue requirements for projects at different stages of maturity. During the development of their own wave energy project, WestWave (a 5 MW pre-commercial project in Irish waters), ESB has established readiness, cost and performance criteria to guide suppliers of ocean energy technology towards viable early project investment propositions. The ESB authors conclude that while there are areas of significant cost and performance risk in the medium term, technical fundamentals indicate that ocean energy has the potential to meet the cost trajectory for all forms of renewable energy and contribute to meeting renewable energy targets.
The third invited paper is entitled “UK Wave and Tidal Projects – Update and Look Ahead” by John Callaghan from The Crown Estate. It gives an overview of recent developments in the UK and the Crown Estate’s activities over the last few years. The Crown Estate’s strategic objective in wave and tidal energy is to support growth of the emerging industry, attract significant investment to the sector and encourage major players to commit to development, as well as helping Government to define policies that support the development of the industry. As of December 2012, there are 41 wave and tidal projects operational or under development in UK waters (managed by The Crown Estate), with a total potential installed capacity of over 2 GW. This includes test and demonstration facilities, demonstration projects up to 50 MW and commercial projects of 50 MW or greater capacity. The author concludes by stating that a next key milestone for the industry will be installation and operation of the first array projects, which will elucidate operational performance characteristics and costs of these arrays.
“From Turbine Prototype to Prototyping an Industry: a Critical Change in Perspective”, is the final article by Chris Campbell and Elisa Oberman of Marine Renewables Canada with Tracey Kutney of Natural Resources Canada. The paper describes the Canadian Marine Energy Roadmap launched one year ago and the need for a strategy in Canada to achieve a marine industry, by making a parallelism with UK initiatives. The clear focus in Canada’s Roadmap was on “cross-cutting and enabling technologies”. The main focus of the article is on the challenges to finance and deliver the first array projects and the emergence of a market pull. Critical issues that come along with the scale change from device trials to prototype arrays are discussed, among which are new responses from regulators, supply chain, manufacturers and financiers. The paper concludes that “demonstration of what this industry will look like and what it can offer” is essential for the necessary developments and support to make a transition from prototypes to arrays of devices to the development of an industry.
The final Chapter 6 is a compilation of numerical information provide by all country representatives on: i) Worldwide Ocean Power Installed Capacity, ii) Open Sea Testing Infrastructures, and iii) Electrical Utilities Involved in Research & Development and Demonstration.