The Marine Renewables Proving Fund, announced in July as part of the UK Government’s Renewable Energy Strategy, will be designed and delivered by the Carbon Trust and will provide finance for the demonstration of wave and tidal technologies.
The funding follows demand from industry and analysis by the Carbon Trust which has shown that extra support is needed to take marine devices successfully from initial prototype development through to early–stage commercial generation, where they are eligible for funding from the Marine Renewables Deployment Fund.
“The Proving Fund will help marine projects get off the drawing board and into the water, taking them a vital step closer to full scale commercial viability,” said Energy and Climate Change Minister, Lord Hunt.
Project bids will be assessed and managed by the Carbon Trust which has been supporting the marine sector since 2003. It has assessed or worked with over 60 different marine energy devices and committed over £12M (US$19M) of funding to date.
Earlier this month, the Carbon Trust announced it is to support two leading devices, Pelamis Wave Power and Marine Current Turbines, as part of its existing Marine Energy Accelerator initiative. Support will focus on reducing costs associated with the installation, operations and maintenance of marine energy devices.
For further information on the fund please visit http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/mrpf
