Pre-commercial deployments focus of new ocean energy crew

 
Industry body Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) has made several new appointments tasking them with uniting the sector behind the strategy to build an ocean energy industry in Europe.

Brussels-based organization OEE has appointed Simon De Pietro, from Irish DP Energy, and Laurent Schneider-Maunoury, from French-based Naval Energies as its new Co-Presidents for a three-year term.

The duo brings a formidable combination of expertise to the table, as representatives of key project developers and OEMs in the ocean energy sector. They will set the industry’s strategy in the coming years, as it aims to deploy pre-commercial farms in European waters, according to OEE.

De Pietro was reappointed after an interim election in 2016, while Schneider-Maunoury will serve his first term as OEE Co-President.

Seven of the key figures in the industry were also elected to the OEE Board of Directors, representing most aspects of the ocean energy sector from all around Europe, OEE said.

The elected Directors include Tony Lewis, Beaufort Professor Emeritus at MaREI; Patrik Moller, CEO of Corpower Ocean; Kieran O’Brien, European Director at Carnegie Clean Energy; Pablo Ruiz-Minguela, Head of Wave Energy at Tecnalia; Andrew Scott, CEO of Scotrenewables Tidal Power; Jochen Weilepp, Board Advisor at Schottel Hydro; and Oliver Wragg, Commercial Director at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

Laurent Schneider-Maunoury, CEO of Naval Energies and OEE Co-President, said: “Now is a crucial time for ocean energy in Europe, as we stand on the brink of commercialization. Ocean energy has a significant impact on local economies and industrial supply chains where it is deployed and all over Europe. The EU has an important role to play to support development on the ground in Member States.”

Simon De Pietro, Managing Director of DP Energy and OEE Co-President, added: “I am honored to be reappointed as Co-President of Ocean Energy Europe by the industry. We have accomplished a lot in recent years, and reached some very significant milestones in 2017 with both steel in water and generation being measured in GWh not kWh.”

Ocean energy can not only produce clean, predictable energy but can do so at a price and with a generation characteristic that can complement commercially fully developed renewables such as wind and solar with their own specific generation characteristics, De Pietro said.

“Together, these technologies – along with rapidly advancing storage technology – can help move Europe towards decarbonization and at the same time provide jobs and economic opportunities across the EU.