Abstract
A well-defined supply chain can highlight the maturity, strengths, weaknesses and areas of opportunity for a particular industry or market sector. This report breaks Canada’s marine renewable energy supply chain down into ten segments: technology developers, manufacturers and suppliers, project developers, development services, supporting technology providers, engineering and construction, operations and maintenance, research and development, policy and industry support, and business services. A survey of sector proponents conducted for this report showed that all agreed the most critical activity today is for the industry to learn, improve and create confidence in ocean renewable energy technologies through large-scale deployments.
The survey also identified areas of potential strengths and weaknesses in the nascent industry’s supply chain. Areas of perceived strength include deep sea ports, marine construction, resource monitoring and analysis, environmental assessment, marine supplies, commercial diving, and transport. Areas of perceived weakness include device manufacturing, engineering construction, and foundations/anchoring expertise. Based on these and other observations, this report offers short- and medium-term visions for the ocean energy sector’s supply chain. The report concludes that this sector’s development needs to be centered on a solid vision that is embraced by industry, government and the public, and a strategic roadmap is critical to providing an emerging supply chain with a tangible picture of how to proceed.