Press release: July 21st 2016
Normandy just won the organization of the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE) in June 2018.
Held by West Normandy Marine Energy (WNME or French ONEM) and Bluesign, the application put forward the technological, economic and structural lead of Normandy for ocean energy development. Washington, USA, was competing against Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Normandy to host the event in 2 years.
ICOE gathers 600 to 900 experts and about a hundred exhibitors every two years: in 2016, 25 countries were represented. Normandy thus succeeds to its 2 partners on ocean energy since ICOE was hosted by Halifax (Canada) in 2014 and by Edinburg (Scotland) in 2016, both of these events were attended by West Normandy Marine Energy.
Let us recall here that the Bay of Fundy (Canada), Orkney Islands (Scotland) and Alderney Race (France, Cotentin) are today the 3 major sites for tidal energy commercial development. These 3 sites are already subject to project development for major project developers such as DCNS-OpenHydro, EDF-EN, ENGIE (partnering with General Electric), but also Atlantis and DP Energy.
Hervé Morin, President of the Normandy Region and of West Normandy Marine Energy, sends a Save the Date: “We will be hosting the biggest international event on ocean energy in 2018, straight after having hosted the international convention on marine energies Seanergy. Normandy reinforces its dedication to the MRE sector on a global scale with the union of these two events. Both of them are milestones that will contribute to increasing the territory’s visibility in terms of R&D, innovation, supply chain, training offers, but also contribute to the maturation of the market”.
Philippe Bas, President of the Manche Department, adds on:
“We are pleased to welcome such an event. After Thetis 2014, Cherbourg opens its gates to a new ocean energy opus. This is a new opportunity for all stakeholders to show their strengths and expertise and build sustainable links to contribute to this highly competitive sector”.
Benoit Arrivé, Mayor of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin:
“This year has started under good auspices for MRE in Cherbourg: filling of DCNS-OpenHydro’s factory building permit, opening ceremony of their headquarters, announcement of CMN’s intention to build new infrastructures on the port… and validation of our application to host ICOE in 2018. We wish that the second half of the year will be as fruitful as the first one for our territory, that’s been involved for several years in favor of marine energies development”.
Géraldine Martin, Deputy Director of West Normandy Marine Energy, concludes:
“This victory is the result of our work carried out on MRE for many years. All stakeholders from Normandy involved in the sector are today rewarded and laureate of this tender to host ICOE. Normandy is today a major actor for ocean energies, globally renowned.”
West Normandy Marine Energy (WNME) is a local public company founded in 2012 by the Normandy Region, the Manche Department and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. WNME structures and develops the MRE sector in Normandy in close collaboration with major contractors and all the actors involved in the associated supply chain, R&D, education and training.
WNME participates actively in the development of MRE markets by taking part in major national and international networks of MRE.
Normandy benefits from numerous advantages for the development of offshore wind and tidal energies, with :
- Three offshore wind farms in Courseulles-sur-mer (450MW), in Fécamp (498 MW) and in Dieppe-Le Tréport (496 MW),
- The world’s first tidal potential for commercial use, located in the Alderney Race (Raz Blanchard, 5,000MW),
- Five large industrial ports: Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Le Havre, Caen-Ouistreham, Dieppe and Fécamp.
- A research network dedicated to MRE, called GREENMAR, gathering 30 research centers and laboratories,
- 680 MSMEs with recognized expertise in the MRE field.
The International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE) is the international event of the MRE sector dedicated to ocean energies that are currently under development or reaching pre-commercial stage (tidal, wave, salinity gradient, ocean thermal energy). This conference aims at gathering stakeholders from the sector and sharing the most recent experiences on research and technological demonstration. This event is supported by the International Energy Agency (IEA) through Ocean Energy Systems (OES). OES is an intergovernmental group that works on international collaboration for ocean energy in order to accelerate the development of the sector and reduce the costs of these energies.
Press Contact
Laure LETHIMONNIER – l.lethimonnier@spl-onem.fr – +33 6 74 84 24 40
