Marine Renewable Energies: Towards a European Atlantic Strategy

RME and the Atlantic Area

-Several individual initiatives, studies and plans: UK, FR, PT, Asturias, Britanny
-Strong political commitment and private sector interest -Need for cooperation supported by Atlantic Networks

-Fostering coherence and promoting synergies

-Addressing common challenges and interests - Identified specifics: floating platforms, tidal and wave sources

Some AA experiences

Obstacles: Multiplicity of high level risks and difficulty in obtaining insurance

Environmental legislation and licensing

Difficult financing access to capital for small companies and limited access to public funds

Differing levels of maturity development among projects

Complicated EU mechanisms Excessive transmission charging in peripheral areas

Demands: EU to deliver a long-term strategy for marine energy - Provide better access to funds

- Improve grid to those peripheral maritime regions which have capability to generate high levels of renewable energy generation Is Connecting -Introduce non-discriminatory transmission Europe giving charging for renewable energy produced in an answer? peripheral maritime regions
- Provide assistance to build or upgrade on- shore facilities for the development of maritime renewable energy - Improve, fast-track, simplify and prioritise mechanisms for environmental assessments with a pragmatic prioritisation for such essential development in peripheral maritime regions.

Atlantic Arc Commission Working Group

The Atlantic Arc has a very real potential in terms of offshore wind energy, in particular in the marine energies sector, and the introduction of a European strategy specifically targeting the Atlantic Arc would provide support for the development of marine renewable energies in this area
WG piloted by Cantabria Region

Operational purpose: Projects and lobby toghether with CPMR s Energy group
Thematic issues: innovation, logistics (including ports), social acceptance (including fisheries), lifting of barriers, sharing and transfer of technologies, support to technologicl development in order to avoid risks, complementarity and synergies

Atlantic Power Cluster

- INTERREG

IVB AA : Exploit the renewable energy potential of the marine and coastal environment. Leaded by SODERCAN - 3 M with 65% ERDF co-financing, 16 partners - Implement a transnational marine energy strategy so the partner regions can seek complementarities to tackle the crucial challenges for the development of marine energies in the Atlantic Area - Develop cooperation and joint approaches to facilitate the identification of new market niches in the renewable energy sector and the redefinition of training programs - Greener model of energy development, while enhancing the competitiveness and innovation capacities in the Atlantic regions

Description of the project: Activities:

-Benchmarking study on MRE in the partner regions

- Methodologies for social acceptance - Business development

- Adapting workforce to MRE needs

- Building a Marine Energy Cluster in the Atlantic Area

Thank you very much for your attention Tamara Guirao Espieira Coordinator Atlantic Arc Cities http://www.atlanticcities.eu coordinator@atlanticcities.eu