Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 October 2011
19 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the research conducted by him to support progress in wave and tidal energy and renewable energy from the marine environment; if he will provide details of any supports available for this sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30084/11]
View answerWave and tidal energy, commonly known as ocean energy, is still at the research, development and demonstration stage globally. In 2008, the Ocean Energy Development Unit (OEDU) was established in the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to take forward Ireland's ocean energy programme.
In 2006, my Department published a National Strategy for Ocean Energy in conjunction with SEAI and the Marine Institute. The strategy was aimed at advancing Ireland's research and development capabilities and at increasing the speed at which ocean energy technologies are deployed in Ireland. It outlined a strategy to capitalise on Ireland's marine energy resource to introduce ocean energy into the renewables portfolio in Ireland and to develop an ocean energy sector.
The current phase of the strategy, provides enhanced support to bring successful designs from the prototype stage to the construction of fully operational pre-commercial devices, which will supply power directly to the electricity network.
SEAI is implementing the programme through a number of actions:
The Prototype Development Fund supports the development of wave and tidal device prototypes and associated supporting technologies through a dedicated grant support scheme promoting the growth of an Ocean Energy industry and associated supply chain based in Ireland. The main focus of this action is on stimulating the development and deployment of Ocean Energy devices and systems. As such, the emphasis is on
Industry-led projects to develop and test wave and tidal energy capture devices and systems;
Independent monitoring of the projects/technologies;
Industry-led R&D aimed at the integration of ocean energy into the electricity market and the national electricity grid (and network);
Data monitoring, forecasting, communications and control of ocean energy systems.
With the objective of stimulating the development and deployment of ocean energy devices that can generate renewable electricity, the funding will enable the companies to take their proposals and prototypes to the next stage of development. A total of 31 projects have been funded to date. Of these 7 projects have been completed and 24 projects are in process. 13 of these 24 projects are due for completion by end of 2011.
The intention is to eventually be able to test full scale grid connected pre-commercial wave energy prototypes. In order to achieve this goal, the Ocean Energy Development Unit in SEAI has been pursuing a strategy of developing a site where this testing could take place.
The proposed Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS) project in Belmullet, County Mayo, is approaching a stage of development with a view to being ready to enter the full consenting process within the next few months subject to resource availability for 2012 and later years. The test site includes two offshore test areas at 50m and 100m water depths which would in turn be connected to a shore based electricity substation.
SEAI and the Marine Institute have also established an Ocean Energy Test Site for 1/4-scale prototypes of wave energy devices in Galway Bay. There are two berths for Wave Energy Converter devices at the test-site. This site was used earlier this year by Ocean Energy Ltd (a device developer from Cork) for a European funded project.
SEAI has also provided support for the enhancement of the wave research capabilities through upgrading the existing wave tank test facility at the Hydraulic and Maritime Research Centre UCC prior to its upgrade as the National Ocean Test Facility, a key component of the PRTLI-funded Maritime and Energy Research Cluster (MERC).
The SEAI is currently overseeing a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the potential for offshore wind, wave and tidal development in Irish waters. The draft plan was placed on the SEAI and DCENR websites for public consultation earlier this year and following that process the plan is being finalised prior to full publication. More generally, SEAI and the Marine Institute work closely to ensure continuous development of the marine energy industry in Ireland.
