Infrastructure
Figure 8 shows a subdivision of the Infrastructure bar from figure 6. The chart enables a much clearer understanding of the underlying issues within the infrastructure category. Three subcategories form 96% of the concern relating to Infrastructure within the industry. The two largest are Testing Facilities and Modelling Tools with 35% each, closely followed by Grids.
The concerns over the testing facilities tend to focus on the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC), which is understandable as EMEC is the only center of its kind in the world [1]. One criticism is that the site is fully booked and smaller device developers struggle to gain access. A Technology Readiness Level six developer states, "major expansion of test facilities such as EMEC would allow innovators to improve their technologies". The same developer continues, "larger companies are sitting on their EMEC berths - although no device is installed, the berth has been leased for a significant length of time".Another criticism of the EMEC test facility is that there is no middle ground between the "benign nursery" and the main, energetic tidal site.
Modelling Tools is a very broad category which includes modelling of devices, arrays of devices, resource and techno-economic such as the modelling of foundation costs or the cost of maintenance. Many of the concerns raised here arise from a lack of operational experience and will certainly lessen as developers gain feedback from their operations. One developer stated that "Operation and Maintenance is the biggest uncertainty in our cost projections". Another developer suggests that these calculations based on models are made more difficult by a "very steep progression from tank tests to full scale commercial demonstration".
The Grid infrastructure is another large area of worry within the industry. A group of companies have stated that the costs and legislation involved in gaining grid connection are a serious cause for concern. One Wave Energy Converter developer suggested that, "grid access is the most significant constraint" whilst a Tidal Current developer said, "grid connection is a large part of project cost and carries with it a long lead time and therefore great uncertainty".
There is also a widespread belief, within the industry, that grid connection costs are very localised. For example, "connecting to the grid in Orkney results in network charges 7x greater than that of a connection to the mainland". In agreement with this, another developer stated that, "grid costs are currently a huge issue for Scottish islands".
The concerns over the testing facilities tend to focus on the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC), which is understandable as EMEC is the only center of its kind in the world [1]. One criticism is that the site is fully booked and smaller device developers struggle to gain access. A Technology Readiness Level six developer states, "major expansion of test facilities such as EMEC would allow innovators to improve their technologies". The same developer continues, "larger companies are sitting on their EMEC berths - although no device is installed, the berth has been leased for a significant length of time".Another criticism of the EMEC test facility is that there is no middle ground between the "benign nursery" and the main, energetic tidal site.
Modelling Tools is a very broad category which includes modelling of devices, arrays of devices, resource and techno-economic such as the modelling of foundation costs or the cost of maintenance. Many of the concerns raised here arise from a lack of operational experience and will certainly lessen as developers gain feedback from their operations. One developer stated that "Operation and Maintenance is the biggest uncertainty in our cost projections". Another developer suggests that these calculations based on models are made more difficult by a "very steep progression from tank tests to full scale commercial demonstration".
The Grid infrastructure is another large area of worry within the industry. A group of companies have stated that the costs and legislation involved in gaining grid connection are a serious cause for concern. One Wave Energy Converter developer suggested that, "grid access is the most significant constraint" whilst a Tidal Current developer said, "grid connection is a large part of project cost and carries with it a long lead time and therefore great uncertainty".
There is also a widespread belief, within the industry, that grid connection costs are very localised. For example, "connecting to the grid in Orkney results in network charges 7x greater than that of a connection to the mainland". In agreement with this, another developer stated that, "grid costs are currently a huge issue for Scottish islands".
Figure 8: Factors Contributing to Infrastructure Barriers
[1] European Marine Energy Center. About Us. European Marine Energy Center. 2011.