Sustainable Marine and Portugal’s blueOASIS are to work together to develop a range of marine renewable energy solutions that are appropriate for developing the ocean energy potential of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The partnership will combine the firms’ respective expertise in technical Research & Development to support the wider Blue Economy, and practical experience in delivering modular marine energy systems in environments with limited infrastructure.
This announcement follows the launch of the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA), at this year’s UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, designed to address the needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal developing countries – particularly least developed countries (LDCs) – providing greater access to ocean energy technology, finance and expertise. GLOEA was officially formed by the Small Island Sustainable Energy and Climate Resilience Organization (SIDS DOCK) in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Stimson Center Alliance for a Climate Resilient Earth (ACRE).
Energy accounts for the highest share of imports to SIDS, which are almost entirely dependent on fossil fuel imports for electricity generation and transport. However, huge opportunity lies dormant in their vast ocean territories and Exclusive Economic Zones, which represent 30% of all oceans and seas.
Sustainable Marine CEO Jason Hayman said if effectively harnessed, ocean energy will spur economic diversification, deliver energy resilience and provide a clean alternative to displace diesel-fuelled energy generation, enabling the development of truly sustainable blue economies within SIDS’ vast ocean jurisdictions.
“A clear message was delivered throughout the UN Ocean Conference week - we must invest in our blue economy to build our green economy,” said Hayman. “It is now widely acknowledged that the Sustainable development of our oceans is both imperative and intrinsic in solving the climate crisis. While there is huge opportunity to innovate across the blue economy sector at large, ocean energy offers a unique long-term solution to dramatically accelerate and sustain the energy transition. The challenge is to develop technology solutions that are relevant for SIDS and coastal developing countries, which are currently experiencing a savage economic shock due the rapidly rising cost of diesel.”
“The UN Ocean Conference provided the perfect backdrop to launch our partnership with Sustainable Marine, with new global initiatives like GLOEA kickstarting a new chapter in global ocean action,” added blueOASIS CEO Guilherme Vaz. “The motto of blueOASIS ‘Making the world green and the oceans blue’, seems to be in perfect harmony with UN Ocean conference main message: we need blue to be green. And we must do this all together, since there are no borders when talking about ocean sustainability and climate change. Therefore, international alliances like this are essential to build a bridge between technology developers like Sustainable Marine and R&D consultancy companies like blueOASIS. Together we will redouble our efforts to deliver progressive solutions for the Blue Economy sector at large, working in harmony with nature. The focus in this particular SIDS context is to scale down the existing complex and expensive structures and make them affordable. We have to democratize renewable energy, to make it accessible to smaller economies with minimal supporting infrastructure.”
