Joseph Grech looks into the viability of wave energy for Malta but finds the technology is ‘not mature yet’ despite substantial research and investment.

Despite commercially viable wave energy technology having been “on the verge of breakthrough” for at least a decade, it does not seem to be anywhere close to fruition.

The problem with wave energy technology, explained Luciano Mulè Stagno, the director of the University of Malta’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, is that it involves a challenging and complex process and there are still no providers of viable machinery. Thus the institute is focusing its research efforts on solar and wind energy, the storage of renewable energy, the efficient use of energy in buildings and policymaking.

Comparing wave energy to wind energy, Prof. Mulè Stagno said: “You can buy a fully functional, tried and tested wind turbine, and after a couple of years of studying the wind resource and where the turbine is going to be installed, you can have a pretty good idea what your return is going to be. Nothing like that exists for wave energy as yet.”

Meanwhile, solar energy is already proven to be cost-effective, even in northern European countries such as Germany, whose solar energy resource is lower than hotter countries such as Malta.

The professor’s comments mirrored those contained in a recent UK study that found that despite almost £200 million of public funds being invested in wave energy innovation nationwide since 2000, the technology “remains some distance away from commercialisation”.

Before we can talk about cost, we need to have a technology that is robust

The research by University of Strathclyde and Imperial College London examined the extent to which the failure to develop market-ready wave energy devices can be attributed to weaknesses in government and industry support for marine power.

It found key factors slowing development, including poor understanding of the scale of the challenge, premature emphasis on array-scale commercialisation and a lack of test facilities.

Rapidly changing, poorly coordinated policies and a lack of knowledge exchange between technology developers is also blamed.  The research concluded that politicians must develop a long-term strategy to create a commercial wave energy device to secure the future of wave power in the UK.

A few years ago, the University of Malta’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, Geosciences Department and Industrial Electrical Power Conversion Department, together with other industrial partners, were involved in a Malta Council for Science and Technology-funded project called Blue Ocean Energy that tested the viability of a certain type of wave generator and measured the wave energy resource off Gozo.

“The findings were that while the resource is obviously not as good as in the North Sea, there could still be enough energy to make a certain type of wave generator viable,” said Prof. Mulè Stagno.

While the institute continues monitoring developments and opportunities, it currently does not have any active projects on wave energy. However, “should the technology mature and be cost effective, we could consider a wave farm for example off northwest Gozo or off the north coast of Malta,” the professor said. He added it was right that wave energy did not feature in Malta’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan 2015-2020, since the technology is not mature yet.

“I doubt it will be on any plan for the near future. Should wave energy technology become mature and cost-effective, I am sure it would be included. But if we look at projections so far, it does not look like it is going to be too cheap and before we can talk about cost, we need to have a technology that is robust.”

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