The future of wave and tidal

The Carbon Trust is at it again. And this time the focus of its future gazing is on international wave and tidal power.

According to an email seen by Alex Morales at Bloomberg, the government funded trust believes the global marine power market could be worth $760bn by 2050, with the UK taking almost one sixth of the total market.

Impressive stuff and certainly good news for a sector that has for too long played second fiddle to the European wind energy market. However, with another renewable market on the up, what does this mean for the future of wind?

As ever, it depends who you ask. While for the doomsayers among us, it is yet another battle to be fought and a blow in the side of future profit margins and security. For others however, the story is very different.

Indeed, as a host of new market participants continue to invest in offshore wind, the potential for the investment to cross into other marine initiatives only strengthens their interest.

Perhaps then, here lies the key. As the costs of marine power per megawatt continue to fall, offshore wind gains an ally, not an enemy. And right now, the more partnerships the European wind energy sector has in place, the better.