Original Article - MIT Technology Review
As the energy debate rages in political and scientific circles, investment in clean energy technologies continues to rise. Clean Energy Trends 2008, published by research firm Clean Edge, estimates that fuel cells, solar PV, wind energy, and biofuels — a combined $77.3 billion market in 2007 — will increase to $254.5 billion (or 229 percent) within a decade. Even ocean energy research, which once ebbed due to its costly nature, has enjoyed a resurgence, attracting $250 million in global capital expenditure since 2004, according to ABS Energy Research. Yet, it remains to be seen which clean energy technologies have the brightest commercial future.
Is ocean energy the next wave?
A recent report completed by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development estimates that the annual market size for ocean energy in the next six years will total $500 million, with installed capacity growing from less than 10MW today to about 1GW during the same period. However, ocean energy remains largely uncharted compared to the progress made on other renewable energy fronts.
The Florida Atlantic University Center for Ocean Energy Technology (COET) is working to change that by focusing on ocean energy permitting and policy development, education and workforce development, public outreach, standards development and economic analysis.
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