What's Next for Europe's Tidal Energy Landscape?

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Driven by its commitment to combat climate change to achieve carbon neutrality, Europe continues to rapidly adopt renewable energy for a greener economy. The region is already significantly investing in renewables such as wind and solar, which have gained remarkable momentum. With its extensive coastal regions and strong tidal currents, Europe is also investing in the development and implementation of tidal energy.

Unlike wind and solar energy, tidal energy is not affected by weather conditions and is highly predictable. Since tidal energy is only reliant on the cycles of moon, sun and earth, its production can even be predicted several centuries ahead.

However, tidal-energy projects face various hurdles. High infrastructure costs as well as environmental impacts, such as on marine life and navigation routes, still remain a concern hindering the wider adoption of tidal energy. To put it in perspective, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of onshore wind is approximately $35 per megawatt-hour (MWh), while offshore wind ranges between $80-$100 megawatts per hour. Compared to this, the LCOE for tidal energy is significantly higher, ranging upwards of $200 per MWh. Even assuming a much wider adoption of tidal energy through 2050, studies estimate costs will not come down below $60 per MWh.

Industrial Info is tracking 16 active capital-spending tidal-energy projects in Europe, with investments worth US$21.3 billion. The majority of the spending is geared toward grassroot projects with the remaining attributed to unit addition projects.

Within the European region, the U.K. leads the way with investments of US$20.04 billion, the majority of which is concentrated in England (about US$17 billion). Various coastal areas like the Bristol Channel, the Pentland Firth, and the Severn Estuary boast strong tidal currents with high potential of generating renewable energy. Other countries with potential spending are Russia, France and Ireland.

Key players investing in tidal energy in Europe are North West Energy Squared Limited, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited (Edinburgh, Scotland), TEDD Group (Thornton-Cleveleys, England) and H2 Clean Energy LLC (Moscow, Russia).

SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited is investing in several projects. With an investment of US$887 million, the company is planning to construct and install 83 additional 2-megawatt (MW) Atlantis AR2000 tidal submerged turbines at the existing Meygen tidal underwater power plant in the North Sea, to increase the plant's energy output to 252 MW and produce additional renewable energy to the national grid. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here to read the detailed project report.

Minesto Energy Tidal Solution (Gothenburg, Switzerland) plans to invest US$62 million to construct and install additional tidal-array turbine generator sets to increase the power plant's generation capacity from 0.5 MW to 10 MW and provide more renewable energy to the local grid in Wales, U.K. Click here for the project report.

While the projects Industrial Info are tracking are mainly in the initial planning stage and facing a kickoff slippage of more than two years on average, sustained focus on the energy transition means that research and development in the sector continues to persist, meaning that the technology cannot be completely written off.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).