One of the Europe’s most power hungry nations could meet 20 per cent of its energy needs from wave and tidal power according to a new report. What is needed, however, is real government focus on renewable technologies.

Marine energy could provide up to 20 per cent of the UK’s current electricity needs and become cost-competitive with conventional and other renewable types of energy generation in the long term – given the right level of investment now.

That is the finding of a new report published by the Carbon Trust into the future costs and growth potential of the UK wave and tidal stream energy sector. The report also reveals that the sector could meet three per cent of the UK’s total electricity supply by 2020.

The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up by the UK government to help the country meet its climate change obligations. This study is based on the organisation's Marine Energy Challenge, a £3 million, 18-month programme, designed to improve understanding of wave and tidal stream energy by helping developers advance their technologies.

Marine energy currently costs more than conventional and other alternative energy sources as the generation technologies are at early stages of development. However, the Carbon Trust report predicts that the cost of marine renewables has the potential to fall significantly in the future.

It cites private investment, underpinned by long-term Government support, as vital in unlocking the potential of the marine energy market. Other key factors included in the report as being likely to impact on the growth of marine energy include the availability of grid connections and network capacity, regulation and security of supply considerations.

John Callaghan, programme engineer at the Carbon Trust, said: “The UK leads the world in marine renewables technology development. Given our superb natural resources and long-standing experience in offshore oil and gas, ship-building and power generation, the UK is in prime position to accelerate commercial progress in the marine energy sector and secure economic value by selling marine energy devices, developing wave and tidal stream farms and creating new revenues from electricity generation.”

“Our report indicates that wave and tidal stream resources could ultimately supply up to a fifth of UK energy needs. Given the sector’s potential as a low carbon and indigenous energy source, growing the marine renewables market is an exciting prospect as part of the UK’s fight against climate change. However, public support and private investment is needed now to step up the pace of marine renewables development in the UK and ensure it meets its potential.”

Marcus Rand, chief executive at British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), added: “Today’s report provides important impetus behind the vision that Britain can rule the waves and tides, making a significant dent in our carbon emissions alongside creating new world class industries for UK plc. With the Government’s Energy Review shining a spotlight on future energy policy this influential report has been published at a critical time. The findings confirm that marine energy has a major role to play in providing 20 per cent of the nation’s power in a secure and carbon-free way. Importantly it lays down the challenge to Government and industry to provide the appropriate levels of public and private sector support over the coming years to ensure this vision becomes a reality. We must, as a nation, urgently pick up this challenge as evidence from the wind sector shows where long-term support is provided the costs of power generation can be reduced significantly and the multiple environmental and economic benefits can be harnessed.”

In light of the reports findings, the Carbon Trust recommends that the UK public sector funders should consider the following ways to support the development of the UK marine energy sector:

* Give increased support over time for marine renewables technology development, with greater support for R&D and cross-cutting technology issues to help deliver cost reductions;
* Support marine renewables project development from now into the medium term, contingent on technologies proving technically viable in the first instance, and later - on evidence of reducing costs;
* Develop a clear long-term policy framework for support to the sector to give business greater investment certainty.

The Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Challenge is novel in the way that it brought together small-scale developers of marine renewables technology with engineering expertise in order to accelerate the overall development of the sector. Following an open tender, eight technology developers were selected to work with engineering specialists in offshore engineering and power generation and improve the chosen concepts – all of which were offshore wave energy converters. Detailed studies were also made into other technologies where developers did not participate directly, including shoreline and near-shore Oscillating Water Column (OWC) wave energy converters and tidal stream energy generators. For further information, go to www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/ctmarine

Wind energy cost breakthrough

US company Owens Corning has developed a novel material which it says will allow wind turbine manufacturers to increase blade length by as much as six per cent and deliver up to 12 per cent more power – for up to 20 per cent less cost than any competing carbon-glass hybrid solution currently on the market.

Launched at the recent European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition in Athens, Greece, this single-end roving and knitted fabric is called WindStrand. And in addition to its cost and performance benefits, the product also provides manufacturers with the traditional processability of glass, combined with the stiffness strength and weight of other high-performance materials. Other product highlights compared to conventional E-glass include:

* Up to 35 per cent higher tensile strengths.
* Up to 17 per cent higher stiffness (modulus).
* Enhanced fatigue, impact, aging, corrosion, and temperature resistance.

WindStrand is the first application using the new Owens Corning high-performance reinforcement platform, HiPer-tex, which the company says is the result of a revolution in glass melting, fibreising and sizing technology.

The new reinforcement will be produced using the Owens Corning next-generation fibre glass manufacturing process, which has a significantly smaller environmental footprint than other technologies currently in use. The performance statistics for WindStrand are based on extensive beta testing in the field, and design blade optimisation by an independent research establishment based in the Netherlands Composite Technology Centre (CTC). CTC studied the effects of replacing traditional E-glass with WindStrand for several components in a 44-metre long rotor or blade, suitable for a 2.5 MW wind turbine.

“For 67 years, since the original invention of fiberglass, we’ve delivered sustainable, energy saving solutions that truly transform markets and enhance lives,” said Chuck Dana, Owens Corning Composites solutions business president. “To continue that pioneering history with the introduction of a new product for wind energy, which is key to our collective ability to meet the rising demand for energy and to safeguard the security of energy supplies, is absolutely at the heart of our corporate purpose and our spirit of true innovation.”

Wind energy comes of age

The price parity per kilowatt hour of generated power varies considerably between different sources of energy. To further comply with the commitments made by the European Union under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a recent EU Directive stipulates the need to help double the share of non-fossil renewable energy sources, such as wind, from six per cent to 12 per cent of gross energy consumption in Europe by 2010. The cost and performance benefits of innovations like WindStrand are essential to helping renewable energy sources like wind energy move to the next level of adoption in the global market.

This is the first time the EU has adopted legislation aimed at promoting the production of energy from renewable resources and is the first step on the road to attaining a sustainable energy system. If targets throughout the EU are met, the consumption of green electricity will rise from 14 per cent to 22 per cent by 2010.

However, wind energy power generation is not restricted to Europe. India is the fourth largest producer of wind-based power after Germany, Spain and the USA, and China’s current wind energy plan is to reach 20 gigawatts by 2020. In Latin America, Brazil offers the greatest potential where wind energy could provide a cost-effective alternative to hydroelectric systems in some areas of the country where water is best used for irrigation.