OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems

131
05 / DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL
OCEAN ENERGY INDUSTRY: PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENTS AND COST REDUCTIONS
UK WAVE AND TIDAL PROJECTS – UPDATE AND LOOK AHEAD
John Callaghan
Programme Manager (Wave & Tidal), The Crown Estate
INTRODUCTION
During the last decade, commercial interest in wave energy and tidal energy grew significantly in the
UK, supported by government policy measures which encouraged research, development, testing and
demonstration of generation technologies. In the current decade, interest is continuing to grow, particularly
towards making the transition from proving the viability of technologies, currently deployed as single
prototypes, to constructing and operating initial projects involving multiple machines deployed in arrays.
The Crown Estate is pleased to be playing a key role in this, primarily by providing leases for seabed sites.
As owner of the offshore seabed around the UK within territorial waters (up to 12 nautical miles from
the coast) and with rights to provide licences in the Renewable Energy Zone (further offshore, in some
places up to 200 nautical miles), we are landlord to the majority of UK wave and tidal projects. But our
work in wave and tidal energy extends beyond this. We have a strategic long-term interest in growth of
the industry, which means we are interested not just in leasing sites today but actively supporting their
development as projects over years to come, including such steps as obtaining statutory consents and
securing grid connections. We are also now considering investing in first array projects in order to help
catalyse investments by others.
This article gives an overview of recent developments in the UK, considering government policies which
support project development and the industry’s progress in developing projects; summarises The Crown
Estate’s activities over the last few years; and briefly looks ahead to the future, including opportunities for
international engagement and collaboration.
Policy and regulatory context
Government bodies across the UK, including the central government and devolved administrations of
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, support the development of wave and tidal energy. The 2010
Coalition Agreement indicated that the UK Government would “introduce measures to encourage marine
energy” and the devolved administrations have made similar commitments.
Waters around the UK are now subject to Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) for wave and tidal
energy development. In connection with a European Commission Directive concerning the ‘assessment of
the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment’, SEAs provide recommendations for plan
implementation and are used to inform guidance for developers. The first country of the UK to complete
a SEA for wave and tidal energy was Scotland, with the assessment covering waters to the north and west
of the country (2007) 1 . Subsequently, wave and tidal development in waters around England and Wales was
covered in an offshore energy SEA by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, DECC (2011) 2 ;
and a SEA for offshore wind, wave and tidal development in multiple zones off Northern Ireland was
completed by the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (also 2011) 3.
There will soon be a consistent level of revenue support for wave and tidal stream projects across the UK.
This is under the Renewables Obligation, a supplier obligation system involving green certificates known
as Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). Various renewable electricity technologies are eligible for
different numbers of ROCs per unit of generation. Wave and tidal stream generating stations are becoming
eligible for 5 ROCs per MWh for projects up to 30 MW capacity. The ROC price varies, but at the current
1
See http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/marineenergy/wave/WaveTidalSEA
2
See http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/consultations/Offshore_Energy_SEA_2/index.php
3
See http://www.offshorenergyni.co.uk/