Project Details
Description
The significant amount of marine energy still to be captured from waves and tides in the 35.696 km of coastline makes the North Sea Region a perfect area to drive forward the development and application of new renewable energy technologies.
In particular, many ports facing the North Sea have spare capacity, quality and quantity of vacant land quays, access to the sea and often proximity to renewable power (offshore/onshore wind, biomass, wave/tidal) development zones. Hence, they are potentially an ideal location for the clustering of industries, technology transfer or research centres and incubators all focused on renewable energy.
However, for port authorities energy production/efficiency is not a primary business activity. Also, they often lack staff to focus strongly on environmental matters. Is it therefore worth while for port authorities being actively involved in the energy generation process and fostering the agglomeration of energy related companies within their premises? Which advantages can they gain in moving toward a port-centric goal?
It is critical for the BEPPo and wider European ports to understand the framework (policy context, industry/research in the territory) in which they operate & the conditions (active/passive role, logistics, knowledge transfer from traditional to new energy sources, etc.) required for them to become renewable energy platforms and energy efficient businesses which can contribute significantly to the economic development of their areas.
BEPPo will specifically try to answer these questions:
- Can ports structure themselves, financially and legally, in order to maximise benefits from marine renewable developments?
- Can ports organise themselves operationally to enable maximum benefit from marine renewable – i.e. charging structures, joint ventures with developers, allocating space (laydown, fabrication, deployment) between developers?
- Can ports act as a key enabler of the marine renewables supply chain, through infrastructure investment and innovative technology research?
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 01/06/2013 → 31/05/2015 |
Collaborative partners
- Ghent University (Project partner)
- Highlands and Ishlands Enterprise (HIE) (Project partner)
- Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute (Marintek) (Project partner)
- AG Port of Oostende (Project partner)
- Sintef Energi AS (Project partner)
- Danish Wave Energy Centre (DanWEC) (Project partner)