Abstract
Marine energy has been gaining attention as a potential contributor to the diversification of the Dutch renewable portfolio and to sustainable energy generation in the North Sea. In July of this year, three motions1 were submitted to the Dutch Parliament, requesting the government to invest in research and demonstrations of marine energy. All three were accepted, indicating the willingness of a majority of the Dutch Parliament to further explore the development and deployment of marine energy in the Netherlands. Thanks to their CO2-free and reliable nature, marine energy technologies may play a role in bulk power generation, balancing of the grid, and the optimization of generation portfolios. Wave energy and tidal energy are currently the most promising technologies to harness the power of the North Sea, whereas salinity gradient technologies may be used in any body of water with a difference in salt concentration, such as in river mouths, where fresh water is discharged at sea, or where the water of the IJsselmeer connects with the Waddenzee. If co-located with offshore wind farms, marine energy technologies can enable a more efficient use of transmission capacity and a multifunctional use of space at sea. Therefore, their role should be clearly defined and integrated within the national renewable policy, considering their potential contribution to the need for multifunctional use of space and infrastructure as stressed in the Draft North Sea Programme 2022-2027. Including marine energy more explicitly in national subsidy schemes could be a way to support and accelerate its commercial development and to reduce the risk of investments. The development of marine energy may also contribute to other purposes that lay outside the scope of this paper, such as creating job and export opportunities for the Dutch offshore and maritime sector, as well as potentially contributing to coastal and river protection projects. Further studies, potentially followed by pilot and demonstration projects, are required to investigate the (additional) risks and benefits of combining such functionalities (coastal and river protection, and power generation).