“A really exciting trend is the move towards multi-use ocean space and the broad portfolio of different renewables that can be a part of it. It’s that efficient use of natural resources, built infrastructure and smart energy systems that is going to move us from ‘huge opportunity’ to achieving Net Zero.”
Short Introduction about your role.
As Innovation and Strategy Manager, I seek areas of wave energy technology which require innovative solutions and work to deliver funded R&D programmes in response. At WES, we’re trying to bring together the best people and the best solutions to push wave energy towards the goal of commercial-scale electricity generation. A competitive programme like this relies on strong technology evaluation and decision-making processes, which are even more effective if many international funders and investors share the same vision and approach to technology development, thereby increasing the chances of the best technologies emerging towards commercialisation. A key part of my role over recent years has been building this international consensus on the metrics used to evaluate technologies, leading a working group to create the International Evaluation and Guidance Framework for Ocean Energy Technologies, published by the IEA Ocean Energy Systems group. I continue to promote this to funders and technology developers alike. Looking further ahead, I’m now working on a funding programme for next generation wave technologies and strategic research into wind/wave integration.
“Wave and offshore wind are a prime example of multi-use that brings cost reduction opportunity to both technologies.”
From your perspective, what are the key trends in renewable energy today?
It’s incredible and so impressive to watch the sheer scale and ambition of offshore wind development happening now. Alongside that, the really exciting trend is the move towards multi-use ocean space and the broad portfolio of different renewables that can be a part of it. It’s that efficient use of natural resources, built infrastructure and smart energy systems that is going to move us from ‘huge opportunity’ to achieving Net Zero. From my perspective, the ScotWind leasing round has brought a move towards floating turbines in increasing water depths and exposed ocean sites which now overlap with attractive sites for wave energy. Wave and offshore wind are a prime example of multi-use that brings cost reduction opportunity to both technologies, but other examples of space-sharing such as fixed wind and floating solar could provide valuable enabling step towards this goal, as well as being an efficient use of space in shallower, more sheltered locations.
Can you outline some of the key initiatives being delivered by Wave Energy Scotland to date?
At its heart, Wave Energy Scotland is an intelligent funding body. WES identifies the key technical challenges of wave energy, designs innovative, competitive funding programmes, and uses knowledgeable project managers to make sure every project delivers on its promises. Our programmes have enabled companies to develop a suite of proof-of-concept products, from wave devices to quick-connection systems, and now we’re balancing commercialisation support with research into next generation solutions. WES has gained a strong reputation for technology evaluation and uses this position to help steer the wave sector towards technical and commercial success.
“The UK is a global centre of expertise in wave energy and related marine operations so wave energy will be a valuable contributor of jobs, economic value, and opportunity as part of a just transition to Net-Zero, particularly in fragile communities near the attractive deployment sites.”
What role can wave energy play in the UK’s future Net-Zero power system?
I see three ways in which wave energy plays a role in our achievement of a Net-Zero energy system. Firstly, a genuine contribution to the UK’s installed capacity of renewables generation portfolio. A recent Policy Paper from the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub showed that with appropriate support to innovation, the UK can deploy at least 6GW of capacity by 2050. Secondly, and increasingly important, is a contribution to the balancing of a high-renewables-penetration system because the temporal profile of wave energy resource complements those of wind and solar. This means a reduction in the amount of battery storage and inter-connectors required on the system in partnership with each additional wind turbine. Thirdly, the UK is a global centre of expertise in wave energy and related marine operations so wave energy will be a valuable contributor of jobs, economic value, and opportunity as part of a just transition to Net-Zero, particularly in fragile communities near the attractive deployment sites.
“I think we need to differentiate between technology development and commercial-scale demonstration, so that we can highlight the cohort of technologies that are truly emerging from the development process and presenting themselves as commercial solutions.”
Are there common misconceptions about wave energy, and what needs to be communicated to ensure attitudes and opinions are well aligned with progress in the technology?
I think there is a misconception in some public circles that wave energy is easy – “why haven’t we done this already?” – so communication of the challenges and meaningful progress is really important. What makes that difficult is that there are a remarkable number of different wave device designs out there so, no matter how much we explain that we probably don’t need or expect to get to the “three-bladed rotor” homogeneity of wind, there’s always room for confusion. In the wider energy sector, I think we need to differentiate between technology development and commercial-scale demonstration, so that we can highlight the cohort of technologies that are truly emerging from the development process and presenting themselves as commercial solutions, from those earlier-stage, but no less important, devices that might follow. The wave sector really is delivering promising pre-commercial technologies now, so we need to communicate that to other offshore sectors with whom wave can form a valuable Net-Zero partnership.
“Scale-up should increasingly happen in partnership or at least collaboration with wind and other offshore sectors to ensure we exploit the benefits of sharing space and infrastructure.”
What would be your three key tenets to improve the ocean energy environment?
My three tenets would be to focus on sensible scale-up, integration with other offshore sectors and achieving the right balance of commercialisation support and R&D.
The move from large-scale proof of concept wave devices to commercial arrays needs to happen at the right pace, allowing investment to drive us forward, while maintaining rigorous development stages such that the technology can first demonstrate performance, reliability and survivability required for the tough ocean environment. We can’t rush this, but we do need to move forward to allow wave energy to contribute to achievement of Net-Zero by 2045/2050, so we need to balance and manage investors’ expectations. That scale-up should increasingly happen in partnership or at least collaboration with wind and other offshore sectors to ensure we exploit the benefits of sharing space and infrastructure. Finally, a key focus should be placed on the investment and innovation requirements of achieving commercial wave energy deployments, but the right balance needs to be struck with more radical, longer term innovation opportunities so that we can continue the trajectory of cost reduction and technology improvement into the future.
