EU turns its eyes to ocean energy

European Commission has high hopes for clean energy derived from the ocean

The European Commission, the legislative arm of the European Union, has published an "action plan" concerning what it calls "blue energy." According to the European Commission, blue energy is clean power than can be generated by the ocean. A new consortium has been established called Ocean Energy Europe and this consortium is comprised of several companies, including Eon, Alstom, and EDF. The consortium has plans to tap into the energy potential of the ocean, producing significant amounts of power for the European Union.

EU continues to work to adopt renewable power

The European Union has ambitious plans when it comes to renewable energy. Several countries in Europe have been working to adopt clean power in an attempt to become more environmentally friendly, but economic plays a role in this adoption as well. Many countries are still suffering from the financial blow wrought by the sovereign debt crisis and have turned to clean power to find some semblance of economic recovery. Ocean energy may be able to add momentum to recovery efforts by helping countries move away from fossil-fuels.

Ocean energy could bring 100GW of clean power to Europe

Ocean Energy Europe has plans to reach more than 100,000 megawatts of installed energy capacity in European waters by 2050. The majority of this capacity is to be derived from wave and tidal energy systems as well as thermal and salinity gradient systems that exploit the differences in seawater temperature. Accoridng to the United Kingdom's Carbon Trust, the ocean energy market is expected to reach more than $500 billion by 2050. This may be good news for Europe as the majority of the world's ocean energy companies are located within the European Union.

Countries continue to focus on solar and wind power

While the European Union is beginning to favor ocean energy, several European countries remain focused on other forms of clean power. Currently, solar and wind energy are the two most popular forms of clean power in Europe. Hydrogen fuel is also gaining more attention, but primarily for its uses in the transportation sector.