Ocean energy development: obstacles to commercialization

Ocean energy technologies are currently competing for a scarce amount of resources, without a great number of commercial successes. Practical Ocean Energy Management Systems (POEMS) conducted a survey, questioning experts from four main categories of ocean energy, including: ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), tidal energy, wave energy, and current energy. It was the hopes of the survey to find consensus, or non-consensus, as to obstacles that have prevented the commercial success of ocean energy technologies. The questions were related to the problems associated with the specific technologies, and potential solutions. The questions represented a broad spectrum of related areas, from problems within the political sphere, to problems with the actual technologies themselves. Upon completion of the survey, it became evident that certain agreement did occur across technology bounds. With a consensus found, POEMS constructed a list of objectives that will be vital to push ocean energy into a competitive commercial phase.