Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference 2009: Profile – Dr. John Huckerby
We’re in the final countdown towards the Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference 2009. In anticipation, we’re running a series of mini-profiles of our OREC members who will be moderating our conference panels to give you a sense of the quality and substance that we intend to deliver.
Dr. John Huckerby
Chairman of IEA, OES
President of AWATEA
What changes have you noticed in the industry since the time that you began working in the field until now?
Increasing interest in the media, increasing numbers of participants, increasing number of devices under development
How do you see the marine renewable industry helping our economy?
Utilizing existing industry capacity – manufacturing, engineering, offshore services, fishing – to service new project deployments, creating new jobs and requiring new skills and capabilities
What do you find most exciting about the marine renewables industry?
The possibility that new sustainable, renewable, reliable, clean and available energy resources may be utiltized.
What, in your opinion, are the top two to three developments needed to bring marine renewables to commercialization?
Extended deployments to demonstrate, capacity factors, reliability, O & M costs. Confirmation that environmental effects are limited and can be managed.
What are your predictions for the marine renewables industry over the next 3-5 years?
The first commercial wave and tidal stream array deployments; increasing numbers of permits, the spread of Government initiatives to support marine energy deployments, new countries developing devices and projects; the first serious public concerns about environmental effects.
John Huckerby is the founder and Executive Officer of the Aotearoa Wave and Tidal
Energy Association (AWATEA), a marine energy industry association formed in April 2006. He is the current Chairman of the International Energy Agency’s Ocean Energy Systems Executive (IEA:OES) and he is also NZ’s representative to the International Electrotechnical Commission’s TC114, a technical committee set up to establish technical, environmental and performance standards for marine energy.
