Regulators and industry need to decouple the tidal and wave sectors as the two technologies diverge in terms of maturity and paths to market, new research has said.
An in-depth survey was carried out by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult on behalf of Crown Estate Scotland in 2023, with views and ideas sought from those working to develop and bring to market the next generation of wave and tidal technologies and projects.
The report found that the industry supported for Crown Estate Scotland’s current flexible approach to leasing.
However, the survey found that, though there was a significant appetite for development of both tidal energy and wave energy in Scotland, each sector increasingly focused on differentiating their market positions, meaning there is a need to reflect their differing priorities and challenges.
The two sectors are at different places in their developments – the UK’s first tidal megawatt-scale projects are currently in development, while wave is deploying the first prototype devices rated at hundreds of kilowatts.
In additional, tidal is pursuing a traditional grid model, with projects receiving contracts for difference. Meanwhile, wave has focused on a business-to-business model, providing single devices to help decarbonise offshore oil and gas operations.
The feedback confirmed that Crown Estate Scotland’s current approach to leasing – where leases for projects of up to 30MW are awarded on an ad-hoc basis, with each considered on individual merit against the evaluation criteria – was appropriate.
However, further consideration of the 30MW capacity limit might be appropriate to reflect credible aspirations for tidal projects in the future.
A number of improvements to the current leasing mechanism were identified, with some achievable in the short term and others requiring longer-term initiatives and policy support.
These include opportunities to have regular round table engagements with Crown Estate Scotland and clearer advertising around the application process
Caitlin Byers, Development Manager for Crown Estate Scotland, said: “This feedback from those working on the frontline of the wave energy and tidal stream sectors is invaluable in providing us with the evidence we need to improve processes and support these vital industries to play their part in helping reach net-zero targets.
“It is clear that the two technologies – wave and tidal – share common challenges in addition to specific barriers; we at Crown Estate Scotland are determined to play our part in addressing those obstacles and to support the tidal and wave energy industries to help Scotland benefit from some of the best tidal and wave energy resources in Europe.”
Simon Cheeseman, Sector Lead for Wave & Tidal Energy at ORE Catapult, said: “We’re delighted to deliver this important survey. There is clear appetite from wave and tidal developers to deploy in Scotland, and Crown Estate Scotland’s review to look at ways to accelerate commercialisation is perfect timing for the marine energy sector that is gearing up to deploy at scale.”
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