Leading experts, companies and investors across the world believe fossil fuels to be a vanishing sector, due largely to the ability of solar and wind to generate electricity at low cost without inflicting a negative impact on the climate. However, marine energy is also expanding rapidly, with the EU quadrupling its budget for the technology from the Seventh Framework Programme, which ended in 2013, to the New Horizon in 2020.
The oceans are one of the world’s largest untapped sources of renewable energy. Managed properly by politicians, marine energy could become the fastest growing source of renewable energy over the next 20 years. This is excellent news, but Minesto CEO Anders Jansson is calling for more co-ordinated action by EU member states in order to fully exploit the technology.
“Marine energy can become an important export business for many countries” said Anders Jansson. “Many politicians need to take their responsibility and raise the ambitions for the upcoming COP21 in Paris. Looking at Sweden, for instance, The Swedish Energy Agency will invest EUR 5.7 million in marine energy between 2015 and 2018. It is a twentieth of what the Wales Government will invest between 2015 and 2019. Sweden, on the other hand, has a number of leading companies in the wave and tidal sector, which, with the right support, could create thousands of new jobs and a new export sector.”
Mr Jansson called for a guarantee fund to enable customers to buy the first demonstration projects. He said that by supporting the first sales, companies will rapidly be able to become self-sufficient, the biggest challenge for start-up companies with new energy technologies.
Jansson has been active in the industry for the past ten years and is optimistic about the climate summit in Paris, to be held between November 30th and December 11th. He is believes that a new climate agreement will be signed and that this will in turn increase the potential of marine energy significantly.
Minesto recently announced a decision on listing on the NASDAQ First North at Stockholm, increase its value by 15.5 million euros. Earlier this year the company secured an investment of 13 million euros from the European Regional Development Funds through the Welsh Government. Swedish company KIC InnoEnergy has also recently decided to support the company, investing a total of 3.5 million euros. Minesto is now set to become one the first companies in the world to build a commercial marine power plant array in Holyhead Deep, off the north coast of Anglesey in North Wales. The plant will be able to supply enough electricity for 8,000 households while also creating local jobs in both the construction and operational phases.
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