The global wave and tidal sector was estimated at £1.98 billion in 2008 and this forecast is expected to grow significantly by 2020.  Key to this will be the diversification of business activity by existing engineering and construction businesses.

Tidal resources in Northern Ireland have the potential to supply 12 percent of energy requirements in Northern Ireland.  It is important for businesses to exploit the opportunities that the deployment of marine technologies represents.

What are the business opportunities?

The primary areas of opportunity in this area are in civil engineering, development of mechanical systems, energy transmission and the operation and maintenance of marine turbines.  In particular, the areas below:

• Surveying and Planning including geological and oceanographic surveying as well as environmental assessment.
• Design including mechanical and electrical system design, control system design and project design.
• Manufacturing of power generation and transmission equipment; control equipment; component parts of marine turbines; and the construction and assembly of structures.
• Installation including onshore assembly; offshore construction including foundations, transport to offshore sites; and cable laying, including grid connection and management.
• Testing of prototypes, component parts and full-scale testing.
• Operation and Management including structural monitoring, reliability management, and performance evaluation.
• Decommissioning including disassembly offshore, transportation, disposal and refurbishment.

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