A report by AEA Energy & Environment on the behalf of Sustainable Energy Ireland for the IEA’s Implementing Agreement on Ocean Energy Systems
28th June 2006
Ocean energy technologies, including ocean wave, tidal current, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and salinity gradient, are at the early stages of development compared with other, more well-established renewable and conventional generation technologies.
The International Energy Agency’s Implementing Agreement on Ocean Energy Systems commenced in October 2001. The Agreement’s mission is to enhance international collaboration to make ocean energy technologies a significant energy option in the medium term future. In 2003, under Annex 1 of the Agreement, a report was published which presented the status and priorities for wave and tidal current energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D).
This report reassesses the status of ocean energy RD&D in 2006 and examines policies that impact on development, as well as services and facilities which support RD&D, and the barriers to progress. This study has identified 81 individual ocean energy concepts which are currently being developed. These include 53 ocean wave technologies, 25 tidal current devices, one OTEC system and two salinity gradient concepts.
