Marine energy could deliver £8bn and 15,000 jobs, report finds
The marine energy sector could bring in more than £8 billion to Scotland’s economy and support 15,000 UK jobs by 2050, according to a new report.
The analysis reveals the economic potential of tidal stream and wave energy if steps are taken to ensure the country remains a world-leading destination for developing marine energy.
It highlights Scotland’s advantages in marine energy – including abundant natural resources and world-leading engineering expertise – but also identifies what is needed to reap these benefits.
Economic potential
The report – produced by the University’s School of Engineering – shows that marine energy projects could deliver more than £8bn in direct economic benefits to the Scottish economy by 2050.
Over the same period, the global export market for marine energy could be worth as much as £28bn to the country, the authors say.
The analysis also shows that the marine energy sector could create up to 62,000 jobs in Scottish companies by 2050. Of these, more than 15,000 jobs would be in the UK with a further 46,000 worldwide.
These findings really drive home the need to take action now if we want to reap the potentially sizeable economic benefits of remaining a world leader in marine energy.
Suzanne Sosna
Director of Energy Transition, Scottish Enterprise
Worldwide impact
The new analysis was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and Wave Energy Scotland, and it combines previous reports on the potential of tidal stream and wave energy.
It shows that by retaining a global leadership position over the next 25 years Scotland could also support the growth of offshore renewable power in the wider UK and other parts of the world.
Thanks to the expertise we have here at Edinburgh, using our world-first facilities such as FastBlade, for testing tidal turbine blades, and FloWave, for tank testing, we are working with market-leaders such as Orbital Marine Power, SAE Renewables, Nova Innovation and Mocean Energy to develop and improve wave and tidal devices. We’re also working with organisations like Crown Estate Scotland to help develop modelling and economic tools for the sector. We’ve proved the technology works, we’re proving it works at scale in arrays and the next stage will be to develop manufacturing capability, driving down costs and creating a domestic supply chain, exporting globally, that supports a world-leading wave and tidal industry based in the UK.
Andrew Aveyard
Energy Sector Lead, Edinburgh Innovations
Facilities such as FastBlade could help speed up development of marine energy technologies in Scotland.
Key actions
The report outlines a series of recommendations to ensure Scotland remains a world leader in marine energy. These include more investment in supply chains, greater support for marine companies and further development of key infrastructure.
It pinpoints areas where Scotland currently leads the way internationally, such as the development and testing of devices, installation, and operations and maintenance.
The report also highlights that supporting the marine energy sector will help advance Scotland’s net zero goals and strengthen UK energy security.
This report clearly outlines not only the significant potential deployments of tidal stream and wave energy devices in Scottish waters and their role in helping to achieve our net zero targets, but also highlights the associated economic benefits and jobs that will provide a meaningful contribution towards the just transition. These outcomes will not be achieved through a business-as-usual approach. Rather, it will require a rapid shift to an enhanced and visible market pull policy, combined with sustained innovation support mechanisms that equally target Scottish technology developers and their domestic supply chains.
Professor Henry Jeffrey
Chair of Renewable Energy Technology and Policy Innovation
