Ireland to Tap Ocean For Energy

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Ireland is hoping to reap the benefits of its island location in the Atlantic ocean by launching its first marine energy research centre.

The Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI) SFI Research Centre, located in Cork university on the southern coast, was officially inaugurated by the Government's Minister for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock, T.D. Billed as a joint government, industry and academic venture the €29.5 million ($40 million) facility will endeavour to place the country at the forefront of the emerging marine energy sector globally. With aggressive development, it could lead to more than 50,000 jobs being created in the sector by 2030.

"By making Ireland an international focal point for the marine renewable industry, MaREI will help create solutions for the marine energy industry to meet national and international sustainable energy demands, and ensure that jobs created in this sector benefit the national economy," Sherlock said. "MaREI will prepare ocean technologies for market by removing technical and commercial barriers, and will directly create companies and jobs, thereby serving as a catalyst for Ireland to establish a safe, sustainable and profitable energy supply for domestic use and for export."

Professor Tony Lewis, MaREI Interim Director and Director of Beaufort Research UCC, added: "Ireland is one of the best locations in terms of marine renewable energy resources. This Centre will develop the science and technology solutions required by industry to develop commercial wave, tidal and floating wind energy devices through cutting edge research. This will lead to significant job creation in the medium to long-term. Some economic studies have suggested that an aggressive development with export activity could lead to 51,000 jobs by 2030, but that really does need application."

The 45 Industry partners include Bord Gáis Energy, state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ESB) (Dublin), Intel and Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany). The engineering giant believes a large proportion of Europe's potential wave energy is located in Ireland. Siemens dipped into the marine energy sector last year when it bought leading tidal turbine manufacturer, Marine Current Turbines (MCT) (Bristol, England). MCT's SeaGen is world's first commercial-scale offshore tidal stream energy system and is installed in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough. Since 2008, it has delivered more than 3-gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity to the U.K. grid. For additional information, see February 23, 2012, article - Siemens Dives into Tidal Energy Market.

In September, the largest planned tidal array in Europe was granted planning permission by the Scottish government. MeyGen Ltd. (London, England), was given the green light to install an 86 megawatt (MW) tidal array in stages, beginning with a 9 MW demonstration project of up to six turbines. It will be located in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, off the north coast of Caithness. If successful the project could be expanded to 398 MW. For additional information, see September 24, 2013, article - Europe's Largest Tidal Energy Project Permitted.

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