Last week Minesto released an updated Cost of Energy analysis which has shown significant improvements compared to previous estimates. Marine Energy Wales welcome this as a positive step forward for the industry.
Minesto’s updated Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) analysis, which was completed with ITPEnergised, has found Minesto’s LCOE will already fall to €100/MWh after 100MW cumulative installed capacity in tidal streams, which makes the technology already more cost effective than established energy such as new nuclear power.
Upon releasing these results, Dr Martin Edlund CEO of Minesto said, “These new results convince me that our technology is transforming ocean energy into one of the most cost-effective energy resources. The figures are underpinned by our light-weight design, our unique operations and maintenance concept and the fact that we will be operating at low-flow sites.”
This news comes just a month after Atlantis Resources predicted that its next phase of development will have costs reduced by two thirds.
David Jones, Project Director of Marine Energy Wales commented, “Reducing the cost of energy is an important step forward for our sector. There is no doubt that marine will be able to follow the model that offshore wind and in fact all other renewable technologies have achieved, deployment at scale will drive down costs.”
This news from Minesto forms part of a series of positive stories that has come from Wales in recent months. The Morlais demonstration zone, Nova Innovation’s Bardsey Sound project, and Marine Energy Wales’s Marine Energy Testing Area (META) project have all received significant amounts of funding, and last week Marine Power Systems unveiled their WaveSub device ahead of its imminent deployment.
Jess Hooper, Project Manager of Marine Energy Wales added, “Wales has an opportunity to play a leading role in this global market and the momentum is continuing to grow across the country. This news from Minesto is great not only for the company and their unique technology, but also for the Welsh industry as a whole, and we look forward to the next phase of their development.”