UK Forms Marine Energy Taskforce to Accelerate Tidal, Wave Growth

The UK has introduced a revolutionary Marine Energy Taskforce (MET) in an effort to make the country one of the leaders in tidal streams and wave energies. This initiative will draw a 12-month roadmap to towards scaling deployment plans and industrial growth towards a clean energy sector in the country whose abundant marine energy resources have huge potential.

Funding of the taskforce is a joint venture between The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland which are key players in leasing rights on seabeds. It is also the result of a concerted action between the UK Government and the Scottish and Welsh administration, industry organisations and marine energy developers.

The fact that the MET has been created is indicative of a rising political and industrial momentum behind offshore-based renewables production, especially as the UK seeks to make its clean energy supply more diversified amidst the rise of environmental targets and energy security issues.

Marine Energy: A Sleeping Giant

The UK Marine Energy Council (UK MEC) has estimated that the United Kingdom has a potential capacity of more than 25 gigawatts of wave energy capacity, and 11 gigawatts of tidal stream. It is the unexploited potential of massively available marine energy which is, after all, mostly present in the form of coastline around the UK.

Moreover, a recent report by the University of Edinburgh indicates that should the UK be in charge of the global marine energy industry, it will be able to unleash the potential of up to 50 billion in economic benefit and generate over 90,000 new jobs especially in the coastal regions.

Taskforce’s Four-Fold Focus

The MET will be composed of a Core Group and some specialized subgroups that are aimed directed towards achieving four main areas of development:

• Site Development: Identifying viable marine energy zones
• Financing: Unlocking private and public investment
• Innovation: Supporting R&D in tidal and wave technologies
• Supply Chain Growth: Boosting UK-based manufacturing and services

This framework is expected to generate strategic recommendations that can guide future policy, investment, and industry scaling.

Leadership and Members

Chaired by Sue Bartlett-Reed of the UK MEC, the Core Group includes a diverse lineup of representatives from government, industry, and academia. Notable names include:

• Mike Dobson, Head of New Energies at The Crown Estate
• Tim Warham, Senior Policy Advisor at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
• Tom Mallows, Offshore Development Head, Crown Estate Scotland
• Michelle Quinn, Director of Offshore Wind, Scottish Government
• Simon Forrest, CEO, Nova Innovation
• Andrew Scott, CEO, Orbital Marine Power

This multisectoral involvement is to help harmonize the regulation, technical know-how and business ability within a single vision.

A Long-Term Vision for Ocean Power

The findings of the MET are anticipated to be fed into the broader Marine Delivery Routemap of the UK that outlines the long term seabed usage plans over the next 2050. The government seeks to align the marine renewables into such framework early enough such that lagging behind of infrastructure development will not out-class innovation.

The need to realise the marine potential in the UK by converting it into real initiatives was stressed by Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP to participate in some of the important sessions of work by the taskforce. Our tides and the waves are not merely part of the forces of nature because they are a national resource. Energy sources it is high time we put it to use to a greener, more independent energy future, said he.

Domestic supply chain content is one of the unique strengths of marine energy sector in the UK, where the content of expenditure of on-going projects remains in the country more than 80 percent. As the sector grows it will be imperative in maintaining this localisation as it will be essential to create jobs, economic ability within the regions, as well as security over national energy independence.

This was echoed by Sue Bartlett-Reed who said, “we have to take the chance not only to be first in the field of technology, but first in ownership of that technology, building British, deploying British.”