Ocean energy is the next frontier in renewable electricity generation. In Europe alone, the ocean energy industry is expected to reach a generation capacity of 100 GW by 2050, covering 10% of electricity demand.

As part of the implementation actions of the SET Plan (Action 1 ‘Develop performant renewable technologies integrated in the energy system’ and Action 2 ‘Reduce the cost of key renewable technologies’), the European Commission, Member States and stakeholders have signed a Declaration of Intent for Ocean Energy that defines goals for the reduction of the costs of ocean energy technologies aimed at making a significant contribution to the future European energy system.

To date, there is still no consensus on the most promising configuration on the topic of wave energy conversion, which is why more than one hundred different devices are being developed in over thirty countries. The progress and future commercial success of each individual device depends on whether the technology is proven, reliable and economically sustainable. Even in Italy interest is growing in the technological development of the sector, despite the Mediterranean wave energy resource being generally lower than in open seas and oceans. This raises important challenges and opportunities, including the creation of low-cost devices, the specialisation of devices according to the characteristics of the resource in the Mediterranean sites and the use of coastal infrastructures for installation.

In this context, in order to assess the potential for effective production of energy from sea and wind sources along the Italian coast, the first year of activity focused on the analysis of the technological, environmental and regulatory aspects of the sea resource that can influence the development trajectories of this sector. The analysis took into account the state of development of the different technologies for converting energy from offshore wind, waves and sea currents into electricity, both in Italy and worldwide.

The authorisation framework, both domestic and international, is also presented, as well as a survey of the scientific literature on the possible environmental impacts of electricity generation from the sea, including best practices and guidelines adopted at international level. Finally, in continuity with the previous three-year period, a detailed study relating to the Mazara del Vallo site (Sicily Channel) is presented, where the MOBI buoy is installed for the continuous measurement of wind, wave and sea current data.