Marine renewable energy is currently all about offshore wind power. Yes, there are other marine renewable energy sources including wave and tidal power and using algae for biofuel production, but so far only offshore wind power has reached a certain level of maturity.
United Kingdom currently leads the way in offshore wind energy production and plans to build its clean energy future around offshore wind turbines. Many other countries, including U.S. have started seriously considering offshore wind energy as one of the top future clean energy options.
Marine renewable energy technologies are still connected with high costs and this is the main reason why they are yet to achieve the popularity of other, less expensive energy sources. The potential is certainly there but these technologies will nonetheless need to decrease their costs in order to become commercially viable clean energy option.
The science should play key role in making these technologies more cost-competitive with other energy sources. The researchers will also have to focus on how to make these technologies as efficient as possible and also need to study their environmental impact in order to minimize their potential damage to marine environment.
The strong marine renewable energy sector would help cut our dependence on fossil fuels, therefore also improving our energy security and our energy independence. Not only that, it would create thousands of green energy jobs that would give boost to our economies.
Many countries around the world have plenty of marine renewable energy resources at their disposal. These countries would make huge mistake if they were to overlook these resources in their future energy plans.
