A new insurance fund for the ocean energy is underway
Published on 24/02/2021
Still largely experimental although promising, the tidal and wave industries face risks that can deter investors. To accelerate the deployment of these ocean energies, Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) has appointed risk and insurance consultancy, Renewable Risk Advisers (Renewable Risk) to carry out the designing of a brand-new European insurance fund for the ocean energy sector.
Initiated within the framework of the European OceanSET project, this fund will reduce the financial risks incurred by investors on experimental projects aiming to harness wave and tidal energy. The financial constraint is indeed one of the main obstacles faced by wave and tidal developers.
Ongoing discussions
Renewable Risk has already carried out a consultation with the ocean energy industry and is currently discussing with insurers, lenders and equity investors to produce a report detailing the fund’s design. The report, set to be released in Spring 2021, will permit OEE and Renewable Risk to work with financial stakeholders and funders to make the fund a reality. “The sector’s scale-up has already begun, and instruments such as the insurance fund will be crucial to further accelerate this growth, commented Donagh Cagney, Policy Director at OEE. Ocean energy will play a key role in decarbonisation, and so speed is of the essence.”
Europe has set itself the goal of funding 100MW of ocean energy by 2025 and 1GW by 2050. The wave and tidal energy sector is thus set for a significant jump in its installed capacity.