TP Ocean has released the recording of the recently held webinar that analyzed the current situation and solutions for mainstreaming warranties, guaranties and insurance in ocean energy.
The webinar hosted Michael Bullock from Renewable Risk Advisers, and Rémi Gruet from Ocean Energy Europe who discussed how warranties, guaranties and insurances can alleviate the risks associated with ocean energy projects.
Ocean energy projects carry significant risks, which increase the cost of capital, as they lack significant data from operation in real sea conditions, according to TP Ocean.
Some of the webinar findings state that a public insurance fund, at European or national level, would allow a small amount of risk bearing capital to leverage significantly more project finance and commercial debt.
The fund could cover several ‘financing gaps’ that ocean energy developers, currently, cannot fill, such as loss of revenue or cost overruns.
The insurance fund could also address finance for decommissioning, eliminating the need for developers to put up cash collateral upfront, it was concluded at the webinar.
Also, a public insurance fund could help projects that do not have sufficient revenue support in the form of a power purchase agreement or feed-in tariff.
TP Ocean concluded that such a fund would not only be beneficial to the ocean energy sector, as its scope could be broadened to all renewable energy technologies such as floating offshore wind or deep geothermal.
TP Ocean is regarded as an advisory body to the European Commission. It is managed by Ocean Energy Europe and the University of Edinburgh, bringing together around 250 experts from 150 organizations covering the entire European ocean energy sector.