Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) has released data showing that, though the ocean energy sector continues to progress toward commercialization, the potential power it could add to the renewable transition makes it essential that more public and private funds go toward this “prize.” Though Europe has always been the dominant player, in 2024, the U.S., and Australia challenged that dominance.
During the Biden Administration, U.S. investments in wave energy dwarfed all others, with $141 million committed in public support to ocean energy in 2024, bringing total public support over the last five years to $591 million. That trend is unlikely to continue under the current administration.
In 2024, cumulative electricity production from ocean energy in Europe reached 106 GWh. OEE said this proves the reliability of installed devices over longer periods and confirms that recent technological progress reduces maintenance cycles and stabilizes production. More devices are planned as well. In 2024, the pipeline of pre-commercial tidal farms grew while several full-scale wave devices were deployed. In the next five years, 165 MW are planned for deployment across 15 publicly supported farms.
Ocean Energy’s Tremendous Promise
Ocean energy could produce up to 30TWh hours of power, and when added to solar and wind could significantly tip the scales toward renewables. One reason is that ocean energy is far more predictable and reliable than either sun or wind. Wave, tidal and Ocean Thermal Energy wax and wane but the ocean never stops. A grid operator can know a week in advance, or more, how much power they can expect the waves to produce, making it much easier to incorporate into the grid.
Also, water is 800 times denser than air, meaning the power of a wave or current is significantly more than that of wind. And the ocean covers 72% of the planet; much of the world’s population lives in coastal areas and on islands.
However, building a technology that works in the ocean is far more complex than building and testing one on land. And many investors have preferred to channel their funds into the more proven technologies rather than advance ocean energy. Public funding, such as European and national grant funding, along with revenue support schemes in the UK and France, have advanced the technology and inspired private investment. But OEE said more public funding is needed to bring the sector to commercialization.
“The UK and France demonstrated with tidal that when national revenue support is in place, farm projects thrive, and private investment quickly follows,” said Valentin Dupont, Senior Policy Officer at Ocean Energy Europe. “It makes projects bankable by offering predictable returns to investors. We need to do the same for wave–especially in Portugal, Spain, the UK, and Ireland.”
Since 2023, OEE reported, publicly announced private investments in the sector have totaled €60 million, not including non-disclosed agreements.
“The (European Investment Bank) EIB must also step in now with debt funding and guarantees to support the first pre-commercial farms,” Dupont said. “This will lower the cost of capital, attract further private investment, and boost the industrialisation on the continent.
“Ocean energy is an opportunity to deliver now on the EU’s competitiveness and decarbonisation agenda. The size of the prize is a new industry made in Europe — with 400.000 new jobs, 100 GW of predictable, home-grown renewable power, and export opportunities all over the globe.”
