UK launches Marine Energy Taskforce to unlock tidal and wave power

The UK has launched a Marine Energy Taskforce (MET), a 12-month initiative that will explore the actions required to realise the UK’s marine energy potential.

The MET will be funded by Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland and chaired by the Marine Energy Council.

The team will include government bodies such as Mission Control and Great British Energy, and industry leaders, who will develop recommendations to address the hurdles to marine energy development.

According to the Marine Energy Council, the UK has over 25GW and 11GW of accessible wave and tidal stream energy capacity respectively. The MET group will focus on site development, financing, innovation, and supply chain growth to ensure this capacity can be unlocked, while maximising UK content within the projects.

Sue Bartlett-Reed, chair of the Marine Energy Taskforce commented on the announcement: “The UK has the natural resource and maritime engineering expertise to lead the world in tidal stream and wave energy. The Taskforce is a critical initiative in providing a roadmap to realising that potential."

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Tom Mallows, head of Offshore Development for Emerging Technology & Infrastructure at Crown Estate Scotland, added: "Crown Estate Scotland is pleased to support this Taskforce and grateful to partners for the focus it brings to the tidal stream and wave energy sectors in particular.

"As the organisation responsible for managing seabed rights around Scotland, we have a key role to play in supporting the sustainable development of offshore renewable power generation. Tidal stream and wave energy offer significant long-term potential if we take deliberate and co-ordinated action. The Marine Energy Taskforce roadmap will help clarify what needs to be done to realise this potential."

The core group of the UK Marine Energy Tasforce includes:

• Sue Bartlett-Reed, chair, MEC
• Richard Arnold, policy director, MEC
• Tim Warham, senior policy advisor, DESNZ
• Mike Dobson, head of New Energies, The Crown Estate
• Tom Mallows, head of Offshore Development, Crown Estate Scotland
• Ed Sherriff, director of Energy, Welsh Government
• Tim Cullen, director Business Development & Partnerships, Great British Energy
• Michelle Quinn, director of Offshore Wind, Scottish Government
• Jake Rigg, Clean Power expert, Advisor Mission Control
• Neil Kermode, associate, EMEC
• Andy Bilcliff, CEO, Mentor Mon Morlais
• Andrew Scott, CEO, Orbital Marine Power
• Anders Jansson, head of Business Development, CorPower Ocean
• Tom Hutchinson, director of Products and Services, Proteus Marine Renewables
• Simon Forrest, CEO, Nova Innovation
• Jonathan Hodges, managing director, Wave Energy Scotland
• Henry Jeffrey, UK representative International Energy Agency, Ocean Energy Systems

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A study from the University of Edinburgh found that the marine energy sector could bring benefits of more than £8 billion ($10.7 billion) to the economy of Scotland and support 15,000 UK jobs by 2050.

The report, which was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and Wave Energy Scotland, indicates that nearly 9GW of tidal stream and wave energy could be deployed in Scottish waters by 2050.