Renew. Energy 89, 515–525 (2016)

Marine energy technologies generate electricity by harvesting energy from waves or tides. Together with wind and solar, marine energy is thought to be an important element in the renewable energy mix required to achieve decarbonization in the coming decades. However, marine technologies are still in their infancy, meaning their potential contribution to the energy mix remains under debate. Focusing on Europe, Alessandra Sgobbi and co-workers from the European Commission's Institute for Energy and Transport have now assessed the deployment of marine energy up to 2050 as a function of possible technological improvements and CO2 emission reduction policies.

Credit: © MICHAEL ROPER / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

The effects of cost reduction and energy conversion efficiency improvements are modelled under two scenarios: one that assumes a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with 1990 levels, and one in which CO2 emission are reduced by 80%. The researchers concluded that, for both scenarios, wave energy remains uncompetitive in the range of parameters considered. On the other hand, tidal energy might become cost-effective by 2030 if its efficiency can be improved by 40% over current expectation or if costs can be reduced by 50%. To achieve these outcomes, annual investments of €0.1 to 1.1 billion are needed. The researchers also propose that research and development efforts should be directed towards increasing the conversion efficiency as the most effective strategy.