[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6506\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETidal energy poised to turn commercial\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESwedish company Minesto is working on an underwater kite that generates electricity from tidal and ocean currents.\u0026nbsp;\u2018Ocean energy is reliable, predictable energy, it has a lot of advantages,\u2019 said Per Salomonsson, an engineer at the company, who is helping design the technology.\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003EThe EU\u0027s \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/en\/topics\/renewable-energy\/renewable-energy-directive\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003Erenewable energy directive\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E sets a binding target that 20 % of energy must come from renewable sources by 2020 and at least 27 % by 2030.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll EU countries have adopted national renewable energy \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/node\/71\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eaction plans\u003C\/a\u003E showing how they intend to meet their targets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGiven the enormous potential, the European Commission has \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/energy\/eu\/index_en.cfm?pg=research-ocean-support\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Esupported ocean energy\u003C\/a\u003E research since the 1980s with more than EUR 55 million in funding.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe kite operates at least 20 metres under the ocean surface where a cable steers it through the current in order to maximise the power generated by a turbine on its underside. The idea is to construct arrays of up to hundreds of individual kites.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe concept, known as Deep Green, was first invented by an engineer at the Swedish aerospace company Saab before developing into a stand-alone company - Minesto - 10 years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Deep Green is the only known technology that exploits low-velocity tidal streams,\u2019 added Salomonsson, explaining that this means it can be used much more widely than other tidal energy devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe kite is one of several tidal energy technologies that engineers believe will become commercially viable in the next few years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere is also a floating platform that is being trialled at the world\u2019s first marine energy test facility, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), which was set up on the Scottish island of Orkney in 2003.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJames Murray, business development manager at Scotrenewables Tidal Power in the UK, which is developing the technology, said: \u2018Earlier generations of tidal energy technologies looked at fixing turbines to the sea bed. We recognised that the key enabling technology for tidal energy isn\u2019t the turbines themselves, but the platform.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe firm has developed the world\u2019s most powerful floating tidal platform called the SR2000. Two 1-megawatt turbines are mounted to its underside and can be tucked away when the platform is towed to and from site. The device is designed for low-cost, on-site access, with all installation and maintenance operations carried out by small workboats or crew transfer vessels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Scotrenewables is developing the second-generation model of its floating tidal platform. Image courtesy of Scotrenewables\u0022 height=\u0022562\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Scotrenewables_crop3.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Scotrenewables is developing the second-generation model of its floating tidal platform. Image courtesy of Scotrenewables\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EScotrenewables is developing the second-generation model of its floating tidal platform. Image courtesy of Scotrenewables\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast month, the company announced that it had successfully installed the SR2000 for the first time at EMEC in an operation taking less than 30 minutes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite these advancements, ocean energy technology is still expensive with big costs going into the design, construction, deployment and maintenance of devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAstonishing speed\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking at an \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/oceanenergy-europe.eu\/oee-2016\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eocean energy conference\u003C\/a\u003E on 8 November in Brussels, Belgium, Karmenu Vella, the\u0026nbsp;European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said: \u2018Experience from offshore wind shows that developing mature and efficient technologies takes time. But once they reach that crucial tipping point, they can take off with astonishing speed.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2014, the European Commission asked the ocean energy industry to come up with a plan for commercialising the sector in Europe, and this was presented to the Commissioner at the conference. One key suggestion was to bridge the gap between risk-averse commercial lenders and public authorities through milestone grants, guarantees and insurance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommissioner Vella said financial resources are needed to get the industry off to a \u2018flying start\u2019, and that the European Commission would soon be launching a market investment platform for ocean energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScotrenewables\u2019 Murray said: \u2018The most important factor to encourage continued private investment is consistency of support at national and EU levels because there is still work to be done to get costs down to compete with other technologies but there is a tremendous potential for low-carbon generation and job creation if we can do so.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe company has come together with eight other industry partners under an EU-funded project called FloTEC to develop the more efficient SR2000 Mark 2 floating platform.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018I don\u2019t see any reason why the industry can\u2019t deliver significant deployment of tidal energy post-2020.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EJames Murray, Scotrenewables Tidal Power, UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are focusing on four areas of innovation to drive down the cost of the technology by 25 % and progress the technology to commercialisation,\u2019 said Murray, who acts as the project coordinator of FloTEC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SR2000 Mark 2 will be launched in 2018 and following a period of testing Scotrenewables hopes that the platform will provide a low-cost, low-risk solution for large tidal array deployments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a similar story for the EU-funded PowerKite project, coordinated by Salomonsson, which is aiming to advance the design of Minesto\u2019s Deep Green kite. Its objective is to make the technology even more competitive for future scale-up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are looking at reducing costs and maintenance while improving energy performance,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore ocean energy makes a notable contribution to the energy mix, national governments and the EU still have to help establish the market. But, according to Murray, with recent innovations that will be sooner rather than later.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If we can show progress through this project, and other pilot projects, I don\u2019t see any reason why the industry can\u2019t deliver significant deployment of tidal energy post-2020,\u2019 said Murray.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-hwftxwre4xsbf2wo9p-gargbbglrwsbo0mnmoim0cvw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-HWfTxwRe4xsbf2WO9P_gaRGBbGlrwsBO0mnmoim0cVw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]