Ocean Energy Systems (OES) has released a new report presenting global state-of-the-art in ocean energy sector.
In its latest report ‘An International Vision for Ocean Energy’, OES predicts the ocean energy sector will create 680,000 jobs and save 500 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2050.
The report states the majority of ocean energy technologies are currently at the conceptual or prototype stages, and finds that growth of the sector over the last 15 years has been slower than predicted.
However, recent modelling suggests that the rates of growth seen in the offshore wind sector in the last 20 years will be reproduced in ocean energy between 2030 and 2050, according to the report.
Alongside detailed descriptions of each technology, the report also covers topics such as challenges to technology development, synergies with other sectors, technology transfer, and policies to support the development of the ocean energy sector.
OES states that tidal energy technologies are currently the most advanced, followed closely by wave energy, thermal energy and salinity gradient concepts.
OES is an intergovernmental collaboration between countries operating under a framework established by the International Energy Agency to advance research, development and demonstration of conversion technologies to harness energy from all forms of ocean renewable resources.