Future Economic Potential of
Tidal Stream & Wave Energy in Scotland

D.R.Noble, K. Grattan, & H. Jeffrey, Policy and Innovation Group. Jan. 2025

This latest report from Policy & Innovation Group at the University of Edinburgh highlights the potential future economic benefit from developing and deploying tidal stream and wave energy in Scotland, the rest of the UK, and from global exports.
Scotland is at the forefront of the global development and deployment of tidal stream and wave energy devices. In addition to significant resource in Scottish seas, Scotland is also home to several leading tidal stream and wave energy device developers and possesses the underpinnings of a suitably equipped supply chain to support them.
Commercial domestic tidal stream and wave energy sectors have the potential to provide a meaningful contribution to Net Zero, the Just Transition, energy security and economic growth commitments and ambitions, both in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

This report shows that:

• Nearly 9 GW of tidal stream and wave energy could be deployed in Scottish waters by 2050, contributing to Net Zero and energy security in Scotland and the UK as a whole
• Projects across the UK could generate over £8bn in economic benefit to the Scottish economy by 2050, with the potential for this value to increase via exports.
• These deployments could contribute over 15,000 jobs in 2050, with high-value jobs located in coastal communities around Scotland helping to address Just Transition ambitions.

To ensure that these projects are led by Scottish companies and organisations, establishing a highly competitive and modernised domestic supply chain is increasingly important.  To achieve these step-changes in supply chain capabilities and deliver the GVA and jobs potential for both sectors, this summary report provides a set of targeted policy recommendations.

Firstly, targeted recommendations are required to support both device developers and their supply chains, focusing on the need for:

• Long-term market support: Ongoing discussions with both UK and devolved governments to drive the continuation and growth of comprehensive market pull policies.
• Sustained technology innovation: Enabling sustained sources of both public and private innovation funding for technology developers.
• Increased supply chain competitiveness: Delivering a step-change in the capabilities required to deliver a modernised and highly competitive supply chain.

Secondly, recommendations are needed to develop essential sector infrastructure, focusing on:

• Develop skills for a Just Transition: Development of soft infrastructures, such as preparing a pipeline of workers with relevant skills and training.
• Cross-sector collaboration: Opportunities to collaborate with, and share, the supply chain and infrastructures of other established offshore sectors, including offshore wind.
• Prioritise infrastructure upgrades: The build out of hard infrastructure, such as ports, harbours, and national grid capabilities.

Finally, this summary report provides the following recommendation to support the smooth delivery of the other recommendations:

• Delivering innovation support in Scotland: Scotland should utilise the extensive experience of its well-established enterprise and innovation support organisations, to deliver on the complex task of sustained device development and the modernisation of domestic supply chain capabilities.

If successful, Scotland stands poised to become the nation synonymous with leading the successful development and deployment of innovative tidal stream and wave energy devices and farms.

The report was quoted by Alistair Carmichael MP in his opening remarks to the Backbench Business debate on UK Government support for the marine renewables industry in January 2025. He expressed his hope that this work will be able to “significantly progress the debate [on marine energy] as we head towards AR7”.

You can watch the debate on Parliament TV or read the transcript in Hansard.

This report outlines the potential GVA and jobs benefits to Scotland, plus the supply chain improvements required to achieve them; download the report here.

Results and recommendations presented are a summary of two separate studies
conducted by the Policy & Innovation Group at the University of Edinburgh
for Scottish Enterprise and Wave Energy Scotland.
Please contact us if you are intersted in the detailed findings .

Click cover to download the report