Ocean energy technology guidance report

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Date
2021-12-21
Authors
Judge, Frances M.
Elliot, Mairéad
O’Boyle, Louise
Long, Caitlin
Candido, José
Noble, Donal
Davey, Thomas
Salcedo, Fernando
Lopez-Mendia, Joseba
O’Shea, Michael
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MaRINET2
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Abstract
The journey of an offshore renewable energy (ORE) device from an idea on paper to a commercial deployment is long, expensive and usually beset by numerous difficulties and dead ends. Physical testing is expensive and suitable test facilities are not available in every country. Furthermore, the guidance available for conducting physical testing is limited, and standardised processes for each stage of development have not yet been fully developed. It is not always clear what technological advancement should be prioritised at each stage of development and where money is best spent. Many developers, despite having a device that performs well, have difficulties securing the finance necessary to progress to the next stage of development. Developers of wave energy converters (WECs) are particularly susceptible to the pitfalls outlined above due to the sector in general being at an earlier stage of development compared with the tidal and floating wind sectors. Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) are the globally accepted index for benchmarking and tracking a technology’s development from conceptualisation to full system demonstration. ORE developers must ensure their technology meets certain performance criteria to progress through the TRLs. However, achieving these performance metrics, while crucial, will not necessarily result in success. Other factors such as cost and a good business plan are also essential to ensure progression. This deliverable aims to assist ORE developers in their journey to commercial deployment by providing an overview of the different frameworks as well as individual metrics that can be used to assess offshore renewable energy devices through all stages of development. The metrics range from those that measure performance, and technical and economic feasibility, to metrics that can be used to determine how ready a developer is to progress their business commercially. Freely available resources that can help ORE developers progress through the TRLs are presented. Many of these resources are the results of other collaborative projets funded by the EU.
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Keywords
Offshore renewable energy , Wave , Tidal , Floating wind , Metrics , Performance , Commercial readiness , Risk
Citation
Judge, F., Elliot, M., O’Boyle, L., Long, C., Candido, J., Noble, D., Davey, T., Salcedo, F., Lopez-Mendia, J. and O’Shea, M. (2021) Ocean energy technology guidance report, MaRINET2, D2.8 (62pp).
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URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10468/15165
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Civil and Environmental Engineering - Reports
Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy (MaREI) - Reports
Copyright
© 2021, the Authors. The content of this publication reflects the views of the Authors and not necessarily those of the European Union. No warranty of any kind is made in regard to this material.