First published in Cleantech magazine, Volume 6, Issue 3. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd

In tropical regions, the difference in temperature between warm surface ocean waters and the depths beneath can be very great.  Scientists at Hawaii’s HNEI, working with defence and technology company Lockheed Martin, want to take advantage of this fact to generate electricity and drinking water. They are among the few world experts on ocean thermal energy, whose exploitation depends on a difference of at least 20°C in sea temperatures and essentially converts solar radiation to electric power.  Helped by HNEI, Lockheed Martin intends to build a 5-10MW pilot plant off the island of Oahu. 

First published in Cleantech Infocus: Offshore Renewable Energy in the Isle of Man, May 2012. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd

Chair - Laura Hanley

During two sessions on 20 April 2012, delegates discussed what factors need to be in place for the successful deployment of marine energy projects and to what extent these factors are in place in the Isle of Man. The aim was to highlight the Isle of Man's strengths and weaknesses relative to other jurisdictions and to determine best practices for the Isle of Man to adopt as it rolls out a marine energy business; also to identify areas on which the Isle of Man Government can focus, in order to enhance the attractiveness of the island for marine energy.

Published in: 2011 - A Review of Cleantech Equity Deals, January 2012

There was plenty of news flow in the marine energy sector during 2011, with test devices being deployed and licences being awarded. Governments around the world are backing this sector.

The year began with the news in January that the UK Technology Strategy Board had awarded funding of over £2.5 million for three R&D projects, in wave and tidal stream energy technologies, to Bauer Renewables Ltd, Pelamis Wave Power Ltd and Marine Current Turbines Ltd. And on the other side of the world, Langlee secured financing of NZ$312,000 from the New Zealand Government’s Marine Energy Deployment Fund for a Stewart Island project.

First published in Cleantech magazine 2011 Issue 3. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd

• Abengoa of Spain has linked up with Ireland’s Wavebob to develop Wavebob’s 1MW wave energy device. The partners also aim to assess potential wave energy locations around the world. Wavebob investors include Sustainable Energy Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, BVP Investments, the CEO of G24 Innovations, Chevron and Vattenfall. Vattenfall has a joint venture with Wavebob to develop a demonstration-scale wave power project off the coast of Mayo, on the west coast of Ireland.

• Australia’s Carnegie Wave Energy has secured funding from the Irish government to assess potential project sites in the country. Carnegie plans to establish a 5MW commercial-scale project in Ireland.

• Marine Current Turbines (MCT) has secured a lease from the Crown Estate to develop an 8MW tidal array at Kyle Rhea, a strait of water between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland. The project is expected to cost £40 million and is scheduled for completion in 2014. Separately, MCT is developing a 10MW project, with seven MCT turbines, off the coast of Anglesey in Wales at a cost of £70 million. MCT is backed by Siemens, Carbon Trust Investments, EDF, ESB and BankInvest.

• Tidal Energy is building a demonstration project at Ramsey Sound, off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales. The project, which will deploy the DeltaStream 1.2MW tidal energy device, is being funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The DeltaStream is a three horizontal axis turbine device, mounted on a triangular frame which sits on the sea bed.

• Atlantis Resources has raised £3.7 million in funding from undisclosed investors, to deploy and test its 1MW AK 1000 tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre in Scotland. Atlantis is developing a 50MW project in India, in partnership with Gujarat Power. In the UK it owns a 10% stake in MeyGen (in partnership with Morgan Stanley and International Power), which has secured a lease to develop a 400MW project off the coast of northern Scotland. Investors in Atlantis include Statkraft and Morgan Stanley.