European nations back ocean energy
24 Nov 11 - Neil Davidson, Public Affairs Manager
'Member State position paper' hardly trips off the tongue as a
major step forward for the wave and tidal industry.
But the formal announcement today of an agreed position paper on
ocean energy, supported by Belgium, Denmark, Norway, France,
Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK, shows that the
potential of marine energy is fast moving up the European energy
agenda.
The paper "Towards European industrial leadership in Ocean
Energy in 2020" highlights the potential of ocean energy to
satisfy 15 per cent of EU energy demand and create 314,000 new jobs
across Europe by 2050, and calls on the European Commission to
fully recognise this potential by including the sector in the EU's
Strategic Energy Technology (SET) plan.
It also has the full support of - no surprise - the Scottish
Government, the British-Irish Council and the European Ocean Energy
Association.
Unlocking new sources of finance
SET plan inclusion is an important goal. It would recognise the
potential for ocean energy to make a contribution to Europe's
carbon reduction goals - and would unlock significant new funding
to support the sector's growth.
The launch took place today to coincide with the Energy Council in
Brussels. This high profile event brings together the European
Commission and energy ministers from across the EU including
ministers Fergus Ewing MSP, Charles Hendry MP and Pat Rabbitte TD,
representing Scotland, UK and Ireland.
There is no better time to highlight the potential of ocean
energy, and we hope European policy makers continue to take
note.
Read the
postion paper published by DECC.