Abstract
Ocean energy (wave and tidal stream) is anticipated to contribute an appreciable amount of sustainable electrical power over the next 20 years. An analysis of the anticipated growth in ocean energy industry in presented here. The work was based on assessment of published targets and growth scenarios for Europe. The assessment presented in the paper is compared with the current exponential growth in offshore wind. Consequently, the appropriateness of some of these targets are also assessed in the study. Based upon current estimated costs of electricity for tidal and wave energy and estimated learning rates, the future costs of energy can be predicted. Combining growth scenarios and electricity costs for ocean energy industries the implications of required investment and job creation has also been assessed and discussed. The investment costs were derived for different learning rates and show large sensitivity to future costs. An estimation of the socioeconomic effect of job creation has been determined using input-output tables, derived in partial from offshore wind. These results highlight strong growth possibilities for ocean energy.