Sea Change: EMEC's marine power push for net zero

While wind and solar have undoubtedly been renewable energy’s biggest success stories, the ongoing gas crisis has highlighted how that success also leaves the UK exposed to the vagaries of the weather. The North Sea’s poorest wind conditions in more than two decades - combined with a litany of other factors – helped drive European energy prices to their highest ever levels, casting doubt over both the UK’s short- and long-term energy strategies. Hitting net zero will mean adding gigawatts of renewables to the grid over the coming decades, but how can we do this while keeping the lights on?

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Nuclear energy almost certainly has a role to play, delivering low carbon baseload that provides the space for renewables to flourish. To that end, the UK is also in possession of some of the largest marine energy resources in the world, tidal and wave power that is significantly more reliable than wind and sun, and which is virtually untapped.