OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems

V
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
DR. JOHN HUCKERBY
Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association
OES Chairman 2009-2012
Last year’s Annual Report introduced the new face of Ocean Energy Systems (OES) and a new Vision for
the future of ocean energy. During 2012 we have been spreading the message of our new mission – to be
the “Authoritative International Voice for Ocean Energy” – and our Vision. During the year we revised
that Vision to include modelling results from the IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives 2012 report, which
for the first time included ocean energy in its modelling. Consequently OES and the IEA now speak with a
single voice on the future development trends in ocean energy.
During 2010 and 2011 the OES Executive had been working hard to secure a 3 rd 5-year mandate to continue
operating to promote ocean energy internationally. OES not only produced a new 5-year Strategic Plan
but it overhauled its ‘brand’, by updating its name, its logo and, more recently, its website (www.oceanenergy-systems.org).
The Committee for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) confirmed on 28 February 2012 that OES
had successfully secured a 3 rd 5-year term and the Executive has been working since that time to begin to
deliver the actions outlined in the Strategic Plan. The Executive’s meetings this year (in Daejeon, Korea and
Aalborg, Denmark) were designed around the Strategic Plan and a number of new Annexes and Activities
are in progress or being planned.
During 2012 we have been working with a number of countries, whom have expressed interest in joining
OES. These include France, the European Commission, Monaco, Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria. I am
pleased to say that, subject to approval from the CERT, Nigeria will become the 20 th member of OES, the
first time that any representative from Nigeria has become part of an IEA organization.
Activity levels in ocean energy remain high in NW Europe and North America, whilst interest and activity has
been increasing in the circum-Pacific countries. OES is committed to making governments around the Asia-
Pacific aware of the potential for ocean energy in their exclusive economic zones. An increasing number
of devices continue to be tested or deployed, as the number of operational testing centres, particularly
in NW Europe, continues to rise. It is an unusual feature of ocean energy that cross-border collaboration,
typified by the OES Executive, continues to be important and the European Union has been in the forefront
of encouraging this collaboration.
During 2012 the International Vision for Ocean Energy (version II) brochure has been widely presented and
distributed at international ocean energy conferences. The OES is presently consolidating its relationship
with the series of International Conferences on Ocean Energy, the most recent of which – ICOE 2012 in
Dublin - was probably the largest international conference on ocean energy in the world to date (960
delegates). We hope that ICOE 2014, which will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 29 September – 1
October 2014 will bring together a similarly large and informed audience (www.icoe2014canada.org).
This is my last message as the Chairman of OES. I am happy that I hand over the role to my Vice-Chairman,
Mr. Jose Luis Villate of Spain, with the OES Executive in good heart: a strong Annex and Activity programme
and a budget to deliver the outcomes of this programme. I cannot end, however, without thanks to all
the members of the OES Executive with whom I have had the privilege to work over the last four years,
particularly the three Vice-Chairmen, who survived the onslaught of emails from me during their terms with
good grace and prompt replies.
Finally, I end with my deep appreciation and thanks to Dr. Ana Brito e Melo of the Wave Energy Centre
in Lisbon. She has been the Secretary of OES since I first joined in 2006. She is the heart and soul of
the organization and works tirelessly to serve the Executive and its officers. We could not have been so
successful without her timely, thoughtful and insightful contributions. It is fitting she gets the next word…