West Normandy to take part in OEE 2015

West Normandy Marine Energy (WNME) will participate for the third consecutive year in the Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) conference to be held in Dublin on October 20-21, 2015.

According to WNME, the 2015 OEE conference will address issues such as marine renewable energy cost reduction that influences the future of the sector, therefore, influencing the Normandy territory which is actively developing several marine renewable energy projects, including Paimpol-Bréhat tidal energy project.

The project is jointly developed by EDF EN and DCNS, and the installation of two OpenHydro’s tidal turbines are expected in 2015.

The delegation will be led by Valerie Nouvel, Vice President of the Manche.

WNME stated that West Normandy and Scotland are the only two European regions on the OEE board of directors. The Normandy region was recently highlighted by The Committee of the Regions (CoR) as one of the regions that show a particular interest to take the lead in harnessing the potential of ocean energy.

According to CoR, the meeting scheduled for October 20, 2015, in Dublin, will see the ministers from the EU’s member states, the European Commission and key stakeholders discuss a roadmap from the Ocean Energy Forum, which, the CoR hopes, could eventually lead to the launch of a formal European Industrial Initiative for the sector.

WNME is a local public company founded in 2012 by the Region Basse-Normandie, the Manche Department and the Urban Community of Cherbourg with the aim to advance marine renewables sector in the region.

Ocean Energy Europe, a Brussels-based industry group representing the renewable ocean energy sector in Europe, is organizing the event with the support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

The event will feature high-level representatives from the industry and governments who will discuss the latest political, technological and financial developments in the ocean renewable energy sector.

Image: WNME/Illustration