“2017 has been a landmark year in ocean energy,” according to the Annual Report released by the International Energy Agency’s Ocean Energy Systems program.
For example, according to the report, global installed ocean energy power approximately doubled in 2017 compared with the previous year, surpassing 25 MW. Tidal current deployments increased to more than 17 MW and wave energy deployments reached 8 MW. The remainder of the capacity comes from ocean thermal energy conversion and salinity gradient. Tidal range utilization is not included in these figures.
OES includes “the full range of ocean energy technologies” in its work: waves, tidal range, tidal currents, ocean currents, ocean thermal energy conversion and salinity gradients. OES does not include offshore wind, marine biomass or submarine geothermal (which occupy sea space but do not directly utilize the properties of seawater).
The report details achievements and progress in many key tasks, three of which have been concluded. In addition, the OES initiated two new tasks in 2017: establishing a common international stage gate metrics framework to be used by technology developers, investors and funders, and validating numerical tools for tidal energy.
The report also contains highlights from many countries: Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
OES members represent 25 countries.
Click here to see the complete report and additional information.
HydroVision connection
HydroVision International this June features a six-session conference track on Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy. Click here to learn more about the sessions and to register to attend. HydroVision International is being held in Charlotte, N.C., U.S.
