Ocean energy’s contribution to the overall EU energy mix is currently quite small; do you see any potential to significantly increase this share in the near future?

Yes, although it would be unreasonable to expect ocean energy to increase at a faster rate than technologies such as wind and solar have in the past.  It is well known that EU has substantial ocean energy resources that are almost entirely untapped at present but that could be a significant part of the EU energy mix in the future.  The speed at which this can be achieved will depend in part upon whether market enablement measures are prioritised in this area across a number of countries and the speed at which private sector investment is encouraged – the same drivers that have shaped the energy mix we have today.  However it is extremely encouraging to see a range of commercial projects being developed and investment by a number of industrial companies and utilities in technologies and projects that could be the springboard for significant growth in the future.

A lack of competitiveness, due partly to high licensing and maintenance costs, has been cited as the main barrier to expansion for ocean energy. What can be done to overcome these obstacles?

I am not sure I agree with the premise that a lack of competitiveness per se is the main barrier to expansion.  Certainly it is true that ocean energy is not currently competitive with more mature energy technologies such as coal, gas, nuclear, onshore wind, offshore wind or solar PV.  However equally it should be remembered that all of these technologies had ‘opening costs’ that were much higher than that currently required for ocean energy at the same stage of technological maturity.  Fortunately this is recognised by some countries establishing premium tariff markets for ocean energy – the main barrier to expansion in these cases will be meeting hurdle rates for investment against comparable investment opportunities once projects have been fully licensed and consented and grid connections obtained.

Licensing costs can be an issue since the legal framework that governs the lease of the sea or seabed may not have been fully established in each country for marine energy projects so projects must overcome ‘first-of-a-kind’ costs as these processes are established.  Environmental conditions imposed may be more severe due to lack of knowledge and experience and application of the ‘precautionary principle’.

The cost of undertaking maintenance is a key component in any electricity generating technology.  Related to this is the reliability of the technology and the ability to easily access the technology in order to perform maintenance.  Whilst these are ‘issues’ there is no fundamental reason specific to ocean energy why these cannot be addressed in by a mixture of design, process and experience in order to deliver progressively more competitive solutions.

What other challenges does the wave and tidal energy sector face in becoming more widespread?

A combination of technical, commercial and political challenges have to be overcome, however none of these are insurmountable but require a clear focus and direction.  Overcoming these barriers requires investment and in order to attract investment a clear route to market has to be established.    This is where the establishment of an early ‘niche’ market with premium tariffs for ocean energy is very important (and across a number of countries) – just as was the case in the development of other renewables such as wind and solar.

At EMEC you are in constant contact with cutting-edge technology; which particular marine energy technology do you consider to be the most exciting?

As an independent test centre it would be wrong for us to highlight any one technology but what can be seen is a variety of designs and techniques that address the fundamentals in ocean energy – namely to make machines that are survivable, reliable, maintainable, operable and cost effective.  Continued innovation and knowledge sharing will further strengthen the variety of concepts being tested at EMEC at our fourteen grid connected full-scale test berths and two scale test sites.  What is encouraging is seeing the range of industrial investment and experience being put into the sector from across the EU including countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, Ireland, Spain, Portugal as well as the UK.

What are the key research priorities in the sector to ensure its increased commercialisation?

• Technology.  Continue to prove generators and their performance.  Also focus on tackling the technical elements required to deliver commercial scale (e.g. 100MW) projects – electrical interconnections, installation methods and techniques, operations and maintenance tools and techniques.  Better use of grid.
• Manufacturing/ logistics/ installation.  The elements required in facilities, materials, methods, techniques and tools in order to drive down costs with volume.
• Operations and maintenance.  Focus on increasing productivity and reducing downtime by improving reliability and maintainability and associated tools and techniques for this.
• Resource.  Better techniques for resource measurement and forecasting and integration with other renewable resources.
• Environmental impacts.  Continued investment in monitoring to ensure impacts are minimised.

The European Commission’s Ocean Energy Roadmap calls for on-going financial mechanisms to support testing of ocean energy devices. Has public investment been sufficient and has industry filled any shortfall, or is increased government support required?

To date the vast majority of investment has come from the private sector.  Typically for every Pound or Euro invested by the public sector six to eight times this amount has been invested by the private sector.  In a nascent sector such as ocean energy, public support is needed to ‘level the playing field’ for investment with more established technologies that have benefitted from many decades of investment and allowed these to reduce their costs.  Given the potential multi-billion euro market size for ocean energy the level of public investment to date has been relatively small.  Hence increased government support would be desirable and certainly justified when the potential economic return for such investment is evaluated.

More than any other renewable energy sector, the marine energy sector has a wide variety of technologies and energy harnessing systems. Is this variety a benefit, or might the industry be better served by concentrating on the development and commercialization of fewer technologies?

Like many other industrial sectors that have been established in the past (e.g.: air travel, railways, computing, the internet) diversity can be a strength in that it allows a Darwinian process of evolution to take place and for the strongest concepts to succeed and for convergence to occur.  This process of ‘self-selection’ will inevitably result in public/private resources being concentrated on winning concepts, particularly for commercial scale projects.

However equally it is important that sufficient diversity is maintained so as not to exclude concepts that may be able to build on early success in the sector but that may have the potential to deliver significant benefits in the longer term.  An analogy can be made with the different video formats that were commercialised – V2000, Betamax and VHS – VHS was the early winner but then this was surpassed by DVD, and ultimately by Blue-ray.  Providing success is seen in the sector there will always be those looking to develop a ‘better mousetrap’ and it is important that there are routes open to allow this to happen.

It should also be borne in mind that as in other sectors little innovation is ‘wasted’ – even where concepts do not prove to be successful and companies fail, the pool of knowledge and experience is widened – for example the experience of vessel operators in installing a variety of concepts leads to knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.  Equally the same can be said of skilled and experienced individuals moving from company to company – the classic ‘cluster’ effect.  Managing innovation is never straightforward but the virtue of undertaking work in an ‘innovation rich’ environment such as marine renewables is that in tackling particular problems solutions may also be created in other related areas – e.g. shipping, offshore wind, offshore oil and gas, CCS which can share similar issues in the offshore environment.

Do some technologies have a better environmental impact / productivity balance and, if so, which technology provides the best performance with the least environmental impact, in your view?

It is certainly not the case that a higher productivity necessarily implies a higher environmental impact although it would be reasonable to expect that different technologies may have different balances between these aspects and that these may also be site dependent.  That said it has yet to be shown that ocean energy technologies have caused any significant adverse impacts, hence it is difficult to answer this question other than to recommend continued monitoring in order to verify that this remains the case and that best practice continues to be followed to minimise any impacts.

Some marine energy forecasts predict capacity in the EU-27 of up to 10 GW by 2020 and 16 GW by 2030, accounting for 0.8% and 1.1% of the EU-27 electricity consumption projected for 2020 and 2030 respectively. Are these targets realistic?

Forecasting the future with any energy technology, even established ones – is extremely difficult but even more so when forecasting rapid growth from a small starting point.  The capacity levels that are forecasted are practical and realistic from the perspective of what can be achieved but the date by which they may be met is much less certain.

It should be borne in mind that preceding the build and deployment of ocean energy generating capacity, project sites have to be developed, consented and permitted.  The grid has to be available to transmit the electricity. Financial hurdle rates for investment have to be met, dependent upon the prevailing market conditions and what the technology can deliver.  The rate at which these conditions can be met, and capacity deployed into the market, is heavily influenced by the degree of political prioritisation for ocean energy and is no different to the factors that have influenced the deployment of other energy technologies in the past.

Nonetheless one clear opportunity is for ocean energy to compliment but also compete with offshore wind where tens of GWs are expected to be deployed over the next 15 years.  Whilst the feed-in tariffs required for initial small-scale ocean energy projects are high at present it is conceivable that the costs could fall to below that of offshore wind with a sustained deployment of perhaps 1-2GW – similar in size to one conventional power station.

If this were to occur this would be a ‘game-changing’ situation which could place ocean energy at the heart of the EU’s energy policy.  It should therefore be the near term aim of EU policy to remove barriers and place incentives to achieve this aim, recognising the fact that initial small scale projects will have high costs simply due to ‘diseconomies of scale’ which are not present in a GW size project.

Source: http://setis.ec.europa.eu/newsroom-items-folder/interview-emec-external-liaison-officer-max-carcas

The centre, which started off with just four wave test berths at Billia Croo, on the west coast of the Orkney mainland, has expanded considerably over the past decade. Now it operates six grid connected wave test berths at Billia Croo, and eight tidal test berths at the Fall of Warness, off the island of Eday. Two smaller-scale wave and tidal test sites are also available for device, technique and component testing in less challenging sea conditions.

All of EMEC’s test berths are currently contracted out to marine energy developers as the industry moves closer to its goal of full scale commercialisation of wave and tidal technologies.

Crucially, EMEC’s presence has sparked the growth of an entirely new industry in Orkney, with increasing numbers of local businesses now diversifying into the marine renewables sector. Recent figures show that marine energy supports around 250 jobs in the islands, with EMEC’s clients injecting approximately £1m per device into the local economy. Staffing at EMEC has almost doubled during the past three years, with the centre now employing over 20 people in Orkney.

Instrumental in the creation of international standards for wave and tidal testing, EMEC’s knowledge and expertise in the marine energy field continues to be sought around the world. Staff from the Stromness headquartered facility are assisting with the development of marine energy centres in Canada, USA, Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea, with several other nations seeking EMEC’s advice on testing.

It was in 2001 that a House of Commons Select Science and Technology Committee recommended a test centre should be created to help develop a marine energy industry in the UK. Orkney was chosen as the site for the centre because of the power of the waves and tidal currents around the islands, its sheltered harbours and its connection to the national grid.

EMEC was set up in 2003, with over £30 million of public funding invested to date from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish and UK governments, Orkney Islands Council, the European Union and the Carbon Trust. The centre remains independent and is now self-financing.

The Billia Croo test site was opened in 2004 and later that year the Pelamis 750 became the first floating wave energy device in the world to generate electricity to the national grid. Two years later EMEC opened its tidal test site at the Fall of Warness and, in 2008, Open Hydro’s 250Kw turbine became the first tidal energy converter to generate electricity to the UK grid. The wave and tidal test sites were expanded in 2010, with EMEC’s smaller scale test facilities opened the following year.

EMEC’s technical director John Griffiths has been with the centre since day one. A chemical engineer with extensive oil and gas experience, he led a team of experts which drew up a report on marine energy for the Department of Trade and Industry back in 1999 and first mooted the idea of an independent test centre for wave and tidal devices. He later went on to assist Highlands and Islands Enterprise with studies aimed at identifying the best location for the new centre and subsequently found himself helping turn visionary plan into reality.

“We effectively started out with a blank sheet of paper and had to make it up as we went along,” says John

“We effectively started out with a blank sheet of paper and had to make it up as we went along,” says John, reflecting on EMEC’s early days. “Nobody had ever created a facility for testing wave and tidal devices before. Equally, developers back then were taking a step into what was unknown engineering territory, trying to design technologies to function in the most hostile of environments.

“It was all done on a shoestring and none of us realised the enormity of what we were doing, least of all the developers. Every time we came across a problem we’d sit down and think about how we were going to deal with it. We got lots of things wrong and, in the early days, we relied heavily on the very few leading companies around who were all struggling themselves, limping along between grants. We spent a lot of time lobbying to persuade people this was an industry that needed to be supported. It was all very pioneering and, at times, very iffy!”

John adds: “I just stand amazed when I look at what’s been achieved to date as creating a test centre was a complete step of faith. Nowadays, I’m never afraid to say I work for EMEC because everybody smiles. It’s liked and it’s valued and I think it’s brought a lot to Orkney.”

In addition to a burgeoning local supply chain, increasing numbers of graduates are also finding opportunities in Orkney’s marine energy sector, with EMEC’s data technician Adele Lidderdale amongst them. The 27-year-old from Kirkwall gained a BSc (Hons) in Sustainable Rural Development from the University of the Highlands and Islands, with the course delivered locally by Orkney College.

“Marine renewables is a fresh and exciting industry that’s creating a real buzz around Orkney” says Adele

“Marine renewables is a fresh and exciting industry that’s creating a real buzz around Orkney and I knew it was something I wanted to be involved in when deciding what and where to study,” says Adele, who joined EMEC in May 2012. “Being able to undertake my course at home in Orkney, at the heart of the marine renewables industry, was essential as it introduced me to people already working in the sector and gave me the chance to develop a better understanding of wave and tidal technologies.”

Adele is now responsible for the quality control of a number of data streams from EMEC’s test sites. She creates reports from the data gathered, providing developers with information that’s vital for their testing programmes.

“Marine renewables is proving to be everything I hoped it would be,” adds Adele. “It’s varied and challenging and I enjoy that sense of being involved with a pioneering industry trying to help solve the world’s energy problems.”

EMEC will be celebrating its tenth anniversary at this month’s All Energy conference in Aberdeen, with the centre’s managing director Neil Kermode addressing delegates attending the event’s special wave and tidal sessions. EMEC’s clients will also give updates on the technologies currently undergoing testing in Orkney in the newly created Wave and Tidal Seminar.

And plans are being developed for a Test Centre Symposium event which will see wave and tidal test facility providers from around the world gather in Orkney later this year to see first hand the flagship marine energy development work being done in the islands. The symposium will give representatives the chance to discuss common challenges for test sites and identify opportunities for collaboration, export and further sharing of knowledge via a global network of leading marine energy clusters.

EMEC has already launched and distributed a new general information leaflet explaining its work and highlighting the importance of Orkney’s part in the development of the global marine renewables industry. Educational resources for local schools are also being created to generate interest in marine renewables amongst younger people and help develop the future supply chain.

The centre, which has had a special new 10th anniversary logo designed, will also be erecting commemorative landmarks at its test sites and assisting with the development of a marine renewables exhibition in Stromness.

“From the outset we made it our aim to respond and adapt to the needs of the emerging wave and tidal industry, while also endeavouring to create globally recognised standards and structures for testing,” says EMEC’s managing director Neil Kermode. “We’ve grown as the industry has grown and everyone at EMEC is immensely proud to have played a part in making Orkney the world centre for marine energy development that it is today. More marine energy activity is now taking place in Orkney than at any other location in the world, with a significant support chain industry developing in the islands. But none of what’s been achieved so far would have been possible without the support of the Orkney community and the commitment of the public and private sector.

“More marine energy activity is now taking place in Orkney than at any other location in the world, with a significant support chain industry developing in the islands,” says Neil.

“A decade is a significant milestone to have passed, but the marine energy industry is still in its infancy, with many challenges – including the thorny issue of grid connection and transmission charging – to overcome before full-scale wave and tidal arrays become a commercially viable reality.

“The technology works, of that there is no question, but developers and investors now need to increase the reliability and work out how large arrays of multiple machines can be built, installed and operated, safely, efficiently and cost-effectively. One of our roles at EMEC over the next few years will be to provide help to developers negotiating the difficult path towards commercial deployment and we anticipate this input will become even greater as major array deployment along the world’s coastlines becomes a reality.”

Mr Kermode added: “It gives us enormous pleasure to be able to share our anniversary celebrations with industry colleagues and the local community and we look forward to helping protect and strengthen Orkney’s role as marine energy’s elder statesman over the next decade, and beyond.”

New Wave and Tidal Seminar Theatre

For the first time this year All-Energy have introduced a new theatre within the Orkney and HIE pavilion focusing on wave and tidal energy technologies.

At 1245 on both days of the conference EMEC clients will be providing quick fire updates on the wave and tidal technologies they are testing at EMEC. Come along to hear the latest from:

• Aquamarine Power
• Pelamis Wave Power
• Seatricity
• Wello Oy
• Alstom (TGL)
• Bluewater Energy Services
• Kawasaki
• Scotrenewables Tidal Power
• Voith Hydro
• Nautricity

Each company will provide a short 5 minute presentation on their progress. A full programme is also now available for the wave and tidal seminar theatre.

Visit us at Stand K91

EMEC is exhibiting in the Orkney Pavilion, so drop by stand K91 to learn about our 10 years of marine energy experience.

All-Energy is free to attend: Register here. For further details on the event, visit: All-Energy 2013.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Industry news

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has launched its new £20 million Marine Energy Array Demonstrator (MEAD) scheme aimed at stimulating further growth in the marine renewable energy sector. The initiative will support up to two pre-commercial projects to demonstrate the operation of wave and/or tidal devices in array formation over a period of time. Organisations from across the UK are invited to bid for a share of the £20 million fund, and can apply online via the DECC website. The closing date for applications is 12 noon on 1 June 2012.

EMEC news

Richard Morris, Commercial Director, recently returned from a Scottish trade mission to Chile where Minister of Energy for the Chilean Government, Mr Rodrigo Alvarez provided the keynote speech at a workshop on ‘Marine energy in Chile’ held in Santiago. Richard delivered a presentation on “Test and demonstration – the road to commercialisation”, and sat on a panel discussing “Environmental aspects of putting marine energy into Chile”. He then travelled to Punta Arenas to view a possible site for a tidal demonstration facility.

Neil Kermode, Managing Director, attended a joint Japan/EU workshop on Ocean Energy & Offshore Wind in Brussels discussing further areas for collaboration between the two regions. Neil provided the group with an update on EMECs activities, and was impressed by the scale of development across the two areas. EMEC already has strong ties with Japan: Kawasaki Heavy Industries are currently developing a tidal turbine to test at the Fall of Warness tidal test site, and we have recently signed a collaboration agreement with the Ocean Energy Association of Japan looking at the development of a Japanese marine energy centre.

Neil also attended the 4th Marine Energy Group meeting run by the Scottish Government where he was pleased to hear more details regarding two proposed funding schemes – the MRCF and MEIF – which further reinforce the continued drive by the Scottish Government to accelerate the development of marine renewable energy.

And visiting EMEC we have welcomed Alyn Smith MEP for Scotland and Mike MacKenzie MSP Highlands and Islands. They visited the Billia Croo wave test site where they witnessed E.ONs Pelamis P2 generating to the grid (pictured in the background, Wello’s moorings being installed, and other marine works on site. They were joined by Orkney’s SNP Secretary John Mowat and Orkney Islands Council Councillor candidate Ewan Loudon, and were highly impressed by the level of activity happening here at EMEC.

Scottish Renewables launched their report “Delivering the Ambition: employment in renewable energy in Scotland” at their Annual Conference in Edinburgh. The study is the first comprehensive assessment of full-time equivalent renewables posts in Scotland and found that over 11,000 people are currently employed in renewables covering renewable energy development, the direct supply chain, academia and the wider public sector. Click here for the full press release.

Further to this, provisional renewable energy statistics published this week by The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that around 35% of Scotland’s electricity needs came from renewables in 2011, significantly exceeding the interim renewable electricity target of 31%. If achieved, the Scottish Government’s ambitious target for 100% of electricity demand to be generated by renewables by 2020 could provide up to 40,000 jobs across Scotland, as well as considerably reducing our carbon emissions and creating an indigenous energy resource. For more information on the Scottish Government’s targets, check out the 2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy in Scotland.

EMEC would also like to extend our congratulations to Richard Yemm, founder of Pelamis Wave Power, who was commended on his commitment to the development of wave energy generation when First Minister Alex Salmond presented him with the Annual Saltire Prize Medal at the Scottish Renewables Annual Conference Dinner in Edinburgh on Tuesday. The First Minister also announced that Terry Garcia, Executive Vice President (Missions Programs), National Geographic Society will chair the Saltire Prize Challenge Committee, with EMEC’s Neil Kermode accepting the position as Deputy Chair. Click here for further details.

EMEC news

EMEC is delighted to have been shortlisted for the 7th Annual British Renewables Energy Awards in the Flagship Project category. The event, organised by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) will take place on 21st June 2012. Watch this space.

Eileen Linklater, EMEC’s Client Relationship and Marketing Manager attended the Scottish Renewables Conference on Tuesday, and participated in the ‘Innovation – Technological Viability and Optimisation’ session, chaired by Calum Davidson, Director of Energy and Low Carbon, HIE.

EMEC’s Research Director, Jennifer Norris, has recently returned from China where she visited the Ocean University of China (OUC) – with whom EMEC formed a strategic alliance last year – and the National Ocean Technology Centre (NOTC), discussing areas for future research collaboration.

And finally, EMEC were astounded by the knowledge and enthusiasm shown by Stromness Primary School’s P5 class who visited EMEC on Wednesday, as part of their project on renewable energy. For more details on what they got up to, and a video showing them waddling back to the school like Penguins (following a discussion on why Wello’s Penguin is so named) visit the Class Blog.

Photo: Donald Sinclair, Engineering Technician, explaining the different wave and tidal concepts, and the class generating their own electricity by blowing air threw straws to turn a miniature turbine.

Neil and Eileen attended the Renewable UK Wave and Tidal Conference and Exhibition in Edinburgh last week. Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Government’s Energy Minister, provided the keynote speech in which he announced that Vattenfall has signed up to a berth at EMEC. There was a particular focus on the need for durability and reliability in technology throughout some excellent presentations and as always, it was a great opportunity to catch up with suppliers and customers.

The RUK ‘Marine Energy in the UK: State of the Industry Report 2012’ was launched at the event, which demonstrates the vast progress which is being made in the industry, but highlights continued investment and government support as vital to advance smoothly to commercialisation.

Following Vattenfall’s announcement last week, and the heightened demand for EMEC’s facilities, EMEC is now looking to expand its wave and tidal test facilities. For further details, click here.

After the RUK conference, Eileen travelled to Aberdeen for the prestigious Offshore Achievement Awards for which we were shortlisted in the new Offshore Renewables category. This was the first year in their 26 year history that offshore renewables companies were eligible to apply for the awards. EMEC were delighted to be nominated, but were pipped to the post by our new client Vattenfall who scooped the award for their work on the Thanet offshore wind farm. Congratulations to them and all the nominees and winners.

Closer to home, HIE announced this week that the six new industrial units at Hatston are now complete. The units have been developed to support the renewable energy sector in Orkney, providing workshop, storage and office facilities to tidal energy developers using EMEC’s tidal test site in Eday. HIE’s senior management team were in Orkney to witness the plethora of renewables activity taking place here, meeting with EMEC and Marine Services, and visiting the new units, and the Ness boat yard where Seatricity are currently manufacturing their wave energy devices.

Coming up:
Neil and Eileen will be attending the Scottish Renewable Annual Conference and Exhibition next week. Eileen is speaking in the ‘Innovation – Technological Viability and Optimisation’ plenary on the 27th March.

THE European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is to begin consultations on the expansion of its pioneering facilities in response to rapidly growing demand for its full-scale test sites.

The move comes as one of Europe’s largest electricity producers, Vattenfall, is confirmed as the latest utility to secure a test berth at the world-leading wave energy test site at Billia Croo in Orkney, where they intend to test a next generation Pelamis (P2e) device.

EMEC is already host to major utilities EON and ScottishPower Renewables, whom are involved in collaboration on the development of their own Pelamis (P2) devices testing alongside each other operating as a twin-machine wave farm.

The announcement follows in the footsteps of Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan and Bluewater Energy Services of the Netherlands, whom announced their intentions to test at the world renowned tidal test site off the island of Eday last year.

EMEC’s client list now boasts developers spanning the globe, including Aquamarine Power, Wello Oy, Seatricity, OpenHydro, Atlantis Resources Corporation, Hammerfest Strøm, Voith Hydro, Tidal Generation Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce), and Scotrenewables.

Neil Kermode, managing director at EMEC, says: “It is great to know that our facilities are attractive to the major utility companies, who are demonstrating a real commitment to marine renewables in testing these innovative technologies.

“This should instil further confidence in the value of the marine energy industry for potential investors.”

EMEC’s 14 full-scale test berths are the first and only accredited facilities of their kind in the world, and the centre’s unrivalled knowledge and experience is highly sought after – evidenced by a sizeable influx of developers in recent months.

The centre is now discussing its options with industry stakeholders and authorities, and while these are still at a very early stage, expansion is now a major focus to ensure the centre can continue to deliver to the sector’s increasing needs.

Neil Kermode says: “The initial public investment and years of hard grind to establish EMEC are now really paying off. The influx of developers that has been witnessed over the last couple of years has been astounding, and the signing of the latest berth is a significant milestone for the centre.”

“Ultimately, the focus of the expansion will be determined by consultation with stakeholders to assess current and future requirements, but the development of berths suitable for testing small demonstration arrays is a real possibility.

“If the full potential of the industry is to be realised, there is a need to understand how arrays are to be built and operated, and if EMEC can ease the path to commercial deployment for developers, then we will.”

The centre also operates two nursery test sites where smaller scale devices, or those at an earlier stage in their development, can gain at-sea experience in less challenging conditions than those at the full-scale test sites, bridging the gap between tank and full-scale testing.

In the last week, EMEC signed a second overseas memorandum of understanding, to assist the creation of a test centre with the Ocean Energy Association of Japan, following a similar arrangement with the Ocean University of China made last year.

The announcement has attracted a lot of attention from the Japanese media (see photo) as Japan looks for viable alternatives to traditional fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources following the recent Fukushima disaster.

Earlier in the week, Jenny Norris, research director at EMEC, travelled to Paris having been invited to sit on the SOWFIA Project Advisory Board. The SOWFIA project aims to achieve the sharing and consolidation of pan-European experience of consenting processes, and environmental and socio-economic impact assessment (IA) best practices, for offshore wave energy conversion developments.

Coming up:
Neil Kermode and Eileen Linklater will be attending the Renewable UK Wave and Tidal Conference in Edinburgh next week. EMEC will have a pod in the Scottish Development International area. We look forward to seeing you there.

EMEC to support development of Japanese Marine Energy Centre

SCOTLAND’S world-leading marine and tidal energy development facility, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), today (Friday, March 9, 2012) announces a major international collaboration to develop Japan’s first marine energy test centre.

EMEC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ocean Energy Association of Japan (OEAJ), with the potential for EMEC to provide advice and support on the design, set up and operation of the Japanese Marine Energy Centre (JMEC).

The partnership will play an integral role in Japan’s focus on developing viable alternative major energy generation schemes to traditional fossil and nuclear power methods in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, which had a major impact on the country’s industrial landscape.

EMEC’s involvement in the development further strengthens the close working relationship already established between Scotland and Japan, which has in the last year seen Kawasaki Heavy Industries confirm that it will test a newly developed tidal energy system at EMEC.

Experts from EMEC are uniquely placed to advise their Japanese colleagues having successfully supported the deployment of more grid-connected devices at the full-scale wave and tidal testing facilities, than at any other single site in the world, from their base in Orkney, Scotland.

Established in 2003, EMEC is the only accredited wave and tidal test centre for marine renewable energy worldwide, providing unparalleled experience and knowledge of testing in real sea conditions.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney said:

“Scotland is blessed with some of the world’s greatest green energy resources offshore. Through EMEC’s unrivalled expertise and the critical mass of companies now developing wave and tidal technologies in Scotland, we are leading international efforts to harness the unbridled energy of the seas to deliver safe, secure and sustainable energy and help protect the planet for future generations.

“This new partnership between Scotland and one of the world’s great industrial powerhouses is very welcome, given our shared heritage for innovation and engineering. Just as a Scot, Richard Henry Brunton, helped Japan build a network of lighthouses to protect sailors from the perils of the sea in the late 19th century, our two nations are now working together to harness those very same forces of nature to generate clean energy.”

Richard Morris, commercial director at EMEC, said:

“EMEC is honoured to be working in partnership with the Ocean Energy Association of Japan, and looks forward to developing a long and prosperous relationship which will drive forward marine innovation in the region.

“The need to address future sustainable energy generation requirements has been accelerated in Japan, for which there is wide-ranging support from within Government and across the country’s industry leaders.

“EMEC is uniquely placed in terms of providing consultancy support to countries wishing to set up marine energy test sites and this is an excellent opportunity for Scotland to assist and work alongside our colleagues in Japan, identifying synergies to boost this new and exciting industry for the benefit of the country and its economy.”

Prof. Takeshi Kinoshita, chairman of OEAJ, said:

“OEAJ is very pleased to be working with EMEC, the world’s most experienced marine and tidal test facility, to provide advice and support on the design, set-up and operation of the Japanese Marine Energy Centre.”

Anne MacColl, chief executive of Scottish Development International said:

“Scotland is globally recognised in the marine energy sector and this MoU is further testament to our appeal as a partner of choice in ambitious world-leading projects.

“SDI has worked extensively with both EMEC and OEAJ and in doing so, was able to successfully identify and facilitate the collaboration opportunity between these two pioneering organisations. The signing of the MoU will provide an excellent foundation for Scotland to build relationships with Japanese partners, giving the Scottish marine energy sector an extra competitive edge and ultimately driving home wealth for the Scottish economy.

“We are committed to continuing to work with EMEC and OEAJ to develop Japan’s marine energy sector and to further strengthen Scotland’s international trading relations.”

Photo (l-r): Prof. Takeshi Kinoshita, Chairman of OEAJ, and Richard Morris, Commercial Director at EMEC signing the MOU in Japan.

EMEC were delighted to see Hannah Nixon, Acting Senior Partner of OFGEM and Charles Gallagher, Director of GB External Relations visit earlier this week. They were able to see the pioneering work in marine renewables taking place in Orkney. After witnessing the pounding waves at Billia Croo and the aggressive tidal flows at the Fall of Warness, the potential of harnessing energy from the sea was made ever more real. During a series of meetings with developers and local organisations the need to innovate was made very clear. The forthcoming radical reform of the energy supply market will present opportunities for innovation and EMEC sincerely hopes they will be grasped enthusiastically so as to prevent the peripheral resource-rich areas from continuing to be disadvantaged.

Today EMEC welcomed representatives from Orkney Islands Council Marine Services Department, who were interested in gaining a better understanding of EMECs operations.

Photo: on a rather blustery day at Billia Croo. From L-R, Jeremy Baster (Grid Consultant to Orkney Islands Council), Charles Gallagher (OFGEM), Hannah Nixon (OFGEM), and Neil Davidson (Public Affairs Manager, Aquamarine Power).