ETI publishes Marine Energy Technology Roadmap

5th October 2010

This Roadmap, developed in conjunction with UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), identifies the key technology and deployment issues faced by the marine energy sector in the UK, and provides initial prioritisation of these issues from the perspective of the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

The analysis presented in the Roadmap includes target costs and performance for the UK marine energy sector, with timelines for their delivery, based on in-house ETI techno-economic analysis. This, along with the specific technology priority areas also identified in the document, will be used by the ETI to help define future project interventions in the marine energy sector.
The key messages from the analysis are:

• Significant cost of energy reduction and technology validation (including array-scale installations) must take place over the next three to five years to position the UK marine energy sector for commercial viability in the long-term


• A target cost of energy of 8-10 p/kWh for array-scale marine energy farms needs to be delivered by around 2025-2030 to deliver a trajectory towards significant marine energy deployment in the UK by 2050


• Future ETI project priorities are likely be focussed on system demonstration activities including installation & recovery methods, foundations & mooring systems, capital and operational cost reduction and potentially small-scale array trials. In addition, sub-component technology developments that can also be included as part of a larger system demonstration (e.g. novel power take-off systems) may also feature.


• The key aspect of any future ETI intervention will be the need to deliver a credible route to achieving the ETI’s medium and long-term cost and performance targets for the marine energy sector.