Press Releases

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Tidal energy, is more predictable than wind or solar and can produce 20% of the UK’s current energy needs. Capturing four times more energy than anything air based, tidal energy has real potential. Increasing the commercial adoption rate of tidal technology requires increasing availability of proven technology and persistent government support. This would enable tidal technology to constantly evolve meeting the needs of society without compromising the economy or the environment.

But tidal energy won’t come easy. Naturally there are challenges such as, regulation, security of supply chain issues, grid connection and network capacity. And no-one is minimising the difficulties that lie ahead. Nevertheless, tidal energy seems to be on course to meet the power needs of 1,600,000 UK homes by 2020, a figure that equates to three percent of the country’s total electricity supply.

Tidal Today is set to address all the issues and more at the inaugural Tidal Energy Summit [www.tidaltoday.com/tidal07] on 28th and 29th November in London. Among the speakers at the event are BWEA, Lunar Energy, Marine Current Turbines and BERR.

Simon Meade, Chief Executive at Lunar Energy commented; “The time for tidal energy has now arrived.  There is no more time for procrastination, only realistic targets and action.   What are the prospects of this industry that is now out of the lab and into the water?  The Tidal Energy Summit will provide a focused opportunity for discussing exactly what is happening now and what needs to happen in the future.  We need proactive action from all stakeholders to make this work.”

The feasibility of connecting tidal energy to the grid is hotly debated and will be addressed by Econnect at the summit. James Hunt, Managing Director at Econnect Consulting stated; "Tidal energy is developing at a tremendous rate, with new and exciting technologies constantly entering the market. Events such as this are extremely important to this new industry and to the renewables industry as a whole, by allowing information and resources to be shared freely amongst professionals. A vital piece to the puzzle is the grid connection of Tidal Energy. As experts in this arena, Econnect will be maximising on the benefit of the conference, offering help and advice on the day." 

The wave of enthusiasm currently surrounding tidal energy means that devises are actually now moving beyond the prototype phase and the sea. Captain Peter Hodgetts, Director at SeaRoc, who both are involved in the installation and deployment of tidal devices, said; “It’s an exciting time in the industry with device developers moving from prototype to commercial scale and an increasing number ‘getting into the water’. It is a pleasure to be invited to be part of the event and contribute to the development of the industry” 

The Tidal Energy Summit is happening on the 28th-29th November, Regent Park Marriott London. Visit www.tidaltoday.com/tidal07 to find out more about this who’s-who event which has attracted top level speakers from across the entire supply chain and learn how you could qualify for up to £300 pounds discount on full prices.

The summit is independent and aims to drive forward the development of tidal energy and is the ideal way for you to contact decision makers, generate business leads and qualify your business in this emerging market. Covering more than just technological challenges.

Contact:
Louise Gray
 lgray@tidaltoday.com
+44 (0) 207  375 7159

Tidal energy-no longer a pipe dream

Whilst tidal technology is barely out of the R&D phase huge strides are being made to transform this industry into a commercial entity. Moreover, with EMEC and Wave Hub being fully booked, it’s clear that a prototype testing is really taking off-and with the launch of NaREC, realistic simulation for large-scale tidal technology is now available.

Add to this the Government’s one-stop shop for offshore renewables planning applications to speed up the process of making marine technology an everyday reality-a clear indication of support for this embryonic yet hugely exciting space.- The time is right for tidal energy to take centre stage at a summits that’s dedicated to the practicality of moving from, “great ideas,” to, “business reality”.

Tidal Today are set to address all the issues and more at the inaugural Tidal Energy Summit [www.tidaltoday.com/tidal07] on 28th and 29th November in London. Among the speakers at the event are Barclays, E.ON, Econnect and Black and Veatch.

Gary Shanahan, Assistant Director Marine Renewables at BERR commented; “developing and implanting policy in this important and fast moving area is very much a two-way process and events such as this one allow officials to keep up to speed with the views and developments from stakeholders.”

Testing centres are beginning to be seen by some as, a controversial aspect of the supply chain as the true extent that they actually aid the development of tidal projects towards commercialisation is being questioned. Hear directly from NaREC Technology Specialist Jamie Grimwade about how test centres are diversifying their portfolio of activities to see how they could feature in your development strategy. When asked about his involvement with the summit Jamie stated; “Attendance at the Tidal Energy Summit provides the opportunity to gather a range of industry stake holders together to further the prospects of realising the potential of grid connected tidal stream power. I am delighted to be invited to participate and contribute to this event by presenting a route map for the identification and evaluation of promising deployment site.” 

Due to the level of activity tidal technology is attracting attention from people who have numerous years of experience working offshore and are keen to make tidal technology a reality. Principal consultant, Michael Starling from BMT Cordah said, “The tidal energy industry is moving beyond the stage where demonstrating the efficiency of energy extraction method is the key design driver in to one where installation practicality and the ability to maintain the equipment are key. The Tidal Energy Summit 2007 is an opportunity to share knowledge and lessons learned from other marine industries.”

The Tidal Energy Summit is happening 28th-29th November, Regent Park Marriott London. Visit www.tidaltoday.com/tidal07 to find out more about this who’s-who event which has attracted top level speakers from across the entire supply chain and learn how you could qualify for up to £300 pounds discount on full prices.

The summit is independent and aims to drive forward the development of the tidal energy. It provide an excellent opportunity for you to make contact with key decision makers, generate business leads and qualify your business in this emerging market. Covering more than just technology challenges but covering the entire route map to take you from the lab to the sea successfully.

Contact:
Louise Gray
lgray@tidaltoday.com
+44 (0) 207 375 7159

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Marine technology a potential $1 trillion worldwide market

Summary-

The world energy council has quoted that the future value of wave energy worldwide is a staggering $1 trillion.

Press Release-

With tidal energy being further down the innovation cycle it does beg the question what is the future value of tidal energy? John Griffith an advisor to EMEC commented, “the UK tidal resource has been assessed in the past as having a market size of about 10% of wave, however that tended to exclude the greater part of the tidal resource which is in >60 m depth-if that extrapolates to the world that would suggest tidal would be at $100-$200 billion.”

An encouraging figure but Amaan Lafayette from E.ON was quick to add caution to this claim. “The potential for all marine energy is undoubtedly significant but having a viable technology is the first step to achieve.”

At present this value is just based on theory and subject to the delivery of reliable and proven technologies.

John Griffith will be joining Amaan Lafayette from E.ON Renewables, Ann Savage from Entec, Dennis Broughton from IEC and a representative from the Crown Estate to discuss regulations facing the tidal industry, take this opportunity to ask the questions which need answering and much more at the Tidal Energy Summit 2007. Check out www.tidaltoday.com/tidal07 for a full line up of the highest calibre speakers and an agenda which is independent and demand led.

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Who will be the king of the tides? Can Britain remain at the fore front of tidal energy development?

Summary – are ROCs going far enough to stimulate development of renewable technologies, or are FIT (Feed in tariffs) a more attractive option to marine developers?

The UK has long been seen as being at the fore front of marine renewables, but can they hold onto this lead? With other countries showing a growing interest in the development and deployment of marine technology, is the UK set for a mass exit of developers?

To stem the flow the answer may lie in feed-in tariffs.  Professor Ian Bryden from Edinburgh University and head of the supergen program commented, “We should point out that flexible feed in tariffs are usually associated with quotas! In other words, be more proactive about the clever benefits of the UK scheme in comparison with often misrepresented FITs.”

Marc Paish from Pulse Tidal added that, “although the timing has not been ideal, MRDF is a useful incentive for first farms and triple ROCs would make early installations very attractive. Looking to foreign markets is not incompatible with being based in the UK .”

It seems fair to say that looking to develop your market overseas is not incompatible with developing in the UK . But tread carefully; whilst the grass might always appear green, beneath the glossy veneer of new and creative incentives promising to deliver greater support for emerging green technologies might be a framework which mimics exactly what you already have.

Marc Paish and Ian Bryden will be joining MCT, BWEA, Black and Veatch and BMT Cordah to discuss negotiating the technical leap as you turn tidal project theory into business success at the Tidal Energy Summit 2007 [ www.tidaltoday.com/tidal07 ] 28-29 th November 2007, London .