Could the next 12 months be marine’s best ever?
September 2016 will be remembered, as Atlantis Resources’ Tim Cornelius put it, as the start of
“the most interesting year in the history of the industry”.
And he should know.
Atlantis’s MeyGen project, the world’s largest tidal energy scheme, launched in Nigg on Monday.
That’s a milestone which will, according to Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon
“invigorate the marine renewables industry in Scotland”.
Speaking at Scottish Renewables’ Marine Conference in Inverness, Tim told how he believes the project’s eventual need for 200 turbines represents
“an unprecedented opportunity for turbine suppliers”.
This is a challenge for the company that will be addressed by diversification across the supply chain.
More pressingly, the current uncertainty around securing a route to market through the CfD mechanism “will be solved”, with Tim saying:
“There are very clever people working on [this issue] and I am confident there will be a solution.”
Given its launch on the previous day it was predictable that MeyGen would become the hottest topic of Tuesday’s Marine Conference.
But there is much to celebrate across the industry.
Nova Innovation, Scotrenewables and Sustainable Marine Energy have celebrated well-reported milestones in recent weeks.
Albatern’s unique work with aquaculture business Marine Harvest Scotland is progressing well, suggesting opportunities in that sector could bear fruit soon.
Technology readiness levels are rising, and upcoming calls from Wave Energy Scotland, discussed in depth through two sessions at the event, provide further cause for optimism in the sector.
As ever, though, two issues – access to finance and grid connections – were described as critical by speakers.
Tim Sawyer of Carnegie Wave Energy UK told the event’s final session:
“We are working off chicken feed to develop game-changing technology, but despite that we have created amazing things.”
It was Ronnie Quinn, General Manager of The Crown Estate’s Scotland Portfolio, who summed up the grid issue.
He said:
“We suffered from the illusion that if we build it the grid would come, but that hasn't been the case.
“National Grid does not invest speculatively, and we urgently need to find a cost effective and socially acceptable way to reduce transmission costs.”
That grid remains such a key challenge in predictable for sectors whose resource is predominantly located far from our towns and cities.
But innovative solutions are starting to emerge, such as MeyGen’s joint use of a community wind farm’s grid connection, which Atlantis’ Tim hailed as a huge step forward.
It was no surprise that the conference, well-attended as it was by smaller developers, supply chain and professional services, was dominated by the huge success of MeyGen.
The optimism that this clearly produced in sectors so used to overcoming adversity was palpable.
And in the final session, OpenHydro’s Sue Barr perfectly summed up the marine industry's determination to succeed: