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17 March 2004 - Speakers at a conference in London devoted to wave and tidal energy insisted that to make the industry viable, funding ten times that provided to date would be needed over the next five years.
Since 1999 the UK government has provided £15m to the industry but a Department of Trade and Industry (DTi) spokesperson indicated that, while more would be available, the marine renewables industry would need to find other partners.
The comments were made at the Wave and Tidal Technology Symposium (WATTS), which took place at the Excel Centre as part of the Oceanology International exhibition. Tony Trapp, from the Renewable Power Association said, "The UK has the best resources and expertise worldwide but must move forward fast if we are to keep the companies developing devices afloat and engineers interested."
"Funding of around £150m would be more appropriate over the next five to ten years. We could have 50-100 MW of installed marine renewables by 2010. It would be absurd for the UK to become reliant on imported gas," said Trapp.
Speaking for the DTi, Claire Durkin said that wave and tidal power was part of the mix of renewable technologies envisaged under the government's White Paper, which seeks to achieve ten per cent of electricity production from renewables by 2010. "Wind power will not be enough. We will need a variety of renewable technologies if we are to meet this target and move on to the aspiration of 20 per cent by 2020," said Durkin.
Durkin told the industry experts gathered at the symposium that they should not rely on the government for funding but also look to enter into partnerships with research councils, the carbon Trust and other R & D interests. She defended that Renewables Obligation (RO) as providing certainty of support for renewable energy production in the future. Delegates criticised the RO as being of no use to marine devise developers who were no yet at the stage of commercial generation.
Trapp said that wave power was already cheaper than wind power at the same stage of development but that when power was produced it would be expensive and that transitional funding would be needed.
Presentations were given at the symposium on some of the more advanced prototype marine energy devises such as Limpet, Stingray, Pelamis, Seaflow and Wave Dragon.
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