Wind Energy

Marine energy capacity could be 27.5 gigawatts in the UK by 2050

Britain could capture almost a quarter of the global wave energy and tidal power market if it builds on its existing lead, the trust forecast. The majority of the jobs would be a result of the growing export markets in countries such as Chile, Korea and the US as well as Atlantic-facing European states which benefit from powerful waves or tidal currents. The study, the most in-depth of its kind, found that total marine energy capacity could be 27.5 gigawatts in the UK by 2050, enough to supply more than a fifth of current electricity demand.

The analysis, released by the Carbon Trust, comes only weeks after coalition ministers ended the industry’s subsidy programme. he marine energy sector could be worth £76 billion to the UK economy by the year 2050, according to new figures released by the Carbon Trust.

Analysis produced by the trust predicts that if current growth rates are maintained Britain could hold a 25 percent share of the global marine energy market, supporting almost 70,000 jobs, the Guardian reported.

The trust said much of the growth is likely to come from the export of marine energy technologies, although the sector should be capable of supplying more than 27.5 GW in the UK by 2050.

"To maintain our world-leading position, we must continue to drive innovation within the industry and turn our competitive advantage in constructing and operating marine technology into sustained green growth," Benj Sykes, director of innovations at the Carbon Trust, was quoted by the news provider as saying.

Previous analysis from the trust suggested that up to 15 percent of energy demand could be met from wave energy and tidal sources and two GW of generation capacity could be installed by 2020.

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